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New guidance clarifying when financial institutions must file suspicious activity reports (SARs) aims to reduce unnecessary compliance burdens and allow firms to focus resources on higher-value investigations.

Structural, regulatory and technical barriers continue to delay progress, with reliance on legacy correspondent banking networks and authorities’ cautious approach hampering the interconnection of systems.

The Regulation on Open Banking, part of a package of regulation published by the National Bank of Ukraine on July 25, 2025, establishes a comprehensive framework governing how banks, payment institutions and electronic money institutions (referred to collectively as payment service providers (PSPs)) manage third-party PSP access to user accounts and the provision of non-financial payment services. Prior to the open banking regulation, there was no dedicated open banking framework in place in the country. Aimed at fostering secure, efficient and transparent data sharing, the regulation sets clear obligations for real-time account access, user consent, third-party authorisation checks and secure information exchange. Effective as of August 1, 2025, the framework introduced strict requirements designed to protect users, clarify responsibilities between parties and ensure that Ukraine’s financial sector remains competitive and aligned with modern open banking practices.

The Central Bank of Brazil’s (BCB) framework for governing Pix Installments, to be published in the final week of October, should standardise the definitions and terminology and enhance the user experience across financial institutions.

In advocating an ambitious, cross-sectoral fraud strategy, the group of consumer, industry and civil society organisations highlighted the variety of criminal threats and identified areas where intervention could be most effective.

Despite ongoing debate over the merits of introducing a digital euro, the announcement of a timetable for relevant legislation demonstrates the EU’s commitment to its creation.

The EU’s banking watchdog’s new Q&As clarify strong customer authentication (SCA) requirements, encryption standards and combined account and payment journeys under the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2).

The Instant Payments Regulation ( Regulation (EU) 2024/886 - IPR) came into effect in April 2024 across the European Union to make instant payments in euro fully available to consumers and businesses throughout the EU. The digitalisation of the global economy has increased the demand for instant payment services that are available at all times. To keep up with the increased demand, the IPR aims to accelerate the rollout of instant payments in Europe and covers credit transfers denominated in euro within the EU.

Industry analysis highlights that broad definitions of distributors risk imposing disproportionate compliance obligations, potentially reshaping the EU gift card ecosystem and limiting consumer choice.

The dispute mechanism hardwires consumer redress into Pix, strengthening consumer protections and cementing Brazil’s position as a global leader in instant payments.