On 28 June 2023, the EU Commission published its long-awaited package of reforms to the EU payments regulatory regime. Deeming the package an “evolution not a revolution” of the EU payments framework, the Commission has published proposals for:
• A third Payment Services Directive repealing and replacing the Payment Services Directive and Electronic Money Directive
• A new Payment Services Regulation, which will harmonize and directly apply most of the conduct obligations imposed on payments firms
• A new Regulation on a framework for financial data access, relating to open finance
• A new Regulation on the establishment of a digital euro

On 1 March 2023 at 1.00 pm GMT, we will be holding a demystifying ESG webinar on the topic of “Getting to net zero and a circular economy through smart investment strategies”. The more common the understanding of imminent climate risk is, the more investors embrace investment strategies that seek to achieve net zero, circularity, energy transition and other changes advancing 2050 goals, alongside financial returns, such as ESG-driven M&A and impact investing. Regulations and government policies help to scale up the impact investing trend, and with capital markets and big PE players lining up to adapt, the odds of reaching the net zero targets look brighter. Yet, many challenges remain: fragmented regulations, an abundance of reporting standards, and discussions around measuring impact vs. financial returns.