Editor's letter
Almost every regulatory headline this year sounded like progress. Read closely, most of them announced deadlines that are still years away. So we built this issue as a waiting room with three doors: what applies today, what is agreed but waiting, and what has stalled. The first door matters most for your roadmap this quarter.
The FinTech Weekly editors
The Lead
This issue: the rules that already apply, the rules that are agreed but waiting, and the rules that are stuck. Ten months after Brussels agreed PSD3, none of it applies yet. The AI Act's high-risk rules moved to December 2027. CLARITY failed in the Senate, 49 to 50. Meanwhile, Verification of Payee turns one this week, and SEPA Instant already carries more than a third of euro credit transfers.
Why it matters
Roadmaps get built around announcements. The obligations that shape products this quarter are the ones already in force. Below, we sort the year's big files into three rooms, with a countdown to the dates that actually matter.
Hero story · Regulation
Europe Agreed on Its New Payment Rules Ten Months Ago. Not One of Them Applies Yet.
2026 was supposed to be the year fintech got its new rulebook. Most of it is agreed, delayed or stuck, while the rules already in force quietly do the work.
Read the full analysis ↗Signals · 4 numbers
🟢 In force
Verification of Payee turns one
Since 9 October 2025, euro-area banks check the payee's name against the IBAN before a transfer goes out. It arrived through the Instant Payments Regulation, years before PSD3 extends it to every credit transfer.
Read the full story ↗🟢 In force
MiCA's grace period is over
Since 1 July 2026, crypto firms without a MiCA licence may only wind down their EU business. More than 360 providers are now on the ESMA interim register.
Read the full story ↗🟡 Agreed, not yet applicable · 5 items
Payments PSD3 and PSR: what changes, and when Open story ↗ CBDC Parliament sends the digital euro to trilogue Open story ↗ AI The AI Act's high-risk rules move to December 2027 Open story ↗ Crypto Europe's central banks want stablecoin reserves out of banks Open story ↗ Banking The ECB answers tokenisation's hardest question Open story ↗Having both options would bring the digital euro closer to cash in terms of flexibility.
Piero Cipollone · Executive Board member, European Central Bank
🔴 Stuck · 3 items
US CLARITY Act: the Senate vote failed 49 to 50 Open story ↗ US SEC proposes Regulation Crypto Assets Open story ↗ EU FiDA's open finance plans are on hold Open story ↗Countdown · 4 numbers
Where regulation gets discussed next · 6 events
Open Banking Expo UK & Europe London · 13-14 Oct NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum Athens · 14 Oct BFSI Nexus Conference Europe Amsterdam · 29-30 Oct FTT Fintech Festival London · 9-10 Nov MoneyLIVE Payments Europe Amsterdam · 11-12 Nov FinTech Connect London · 1-2 Dec