UK Regulator Cracks Down On Crypto Trading

  • The big FinTech story of the weekend was the move by the UK’s lead financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority to clamp down on much of the cryptocurrency trading activity in the UK.

Crypto transactions are opaque (the transaction is easy to see on the blockchain, but the true identity of the beneficial owner of a crypto asset is less easy to determine). As the authorities don’t necessarily know what’s going on, the move to minimise activity is logical enough. Our friends at Altfi report:

After warning that huge numbers of crypto firms were failing to meet its anti-money laundering (AML) rules, the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK has ordered crypto exchange giant Binance to stop operating.

In a notice added to the FCA Register on Friday, the regulator stated that Binance’s UK division must withdraw all advertising and must not “carry out any regulated activities”.

The regulator is also stating that a prominent notice of the restrictions must be placed on Binance’s website, apps and social accounts warning consumers of the ban.

Binance denied that the FCA’s actions would have any practical impact on its ability to service its UK customers, given its exchange and website are separate legal entities based outside the UK.

However, the FCA added a consumer warning on Saturday to its website, stating that “no other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorisation, registration or licence to conduct regulated activity in the UK”.

The warning included a notice on the high risks of investing in “cryptoasset or cryptoasset-related products”.

Last month the FCA said just five crypto firms had managed to meet the AML rules required to register with it.

The deadline for the remaining 90 firms, who are currently operating under temporary registration, to comply was delayed to March 2022.

“The extended date allows cryptoasset firms to continue to carry on business while the FCA continues with its robust assessment,” the regulator said.”

Historical Performance And IFISA Process Guide

  • Money&Co. lenders have achieved an average return of more than 8 per cent gross (before we deduct our one per cent fee). 

That figure is the result of over £24 million of loans facilitated on the site, as we bring individuals looking for a good return on capital together with carefully vetted small companies seeking funds for growth. Bear in mind that lenders’ capital is at risk. Read warnings on site before committing capital.

  • Money&Co. has been lending for over 5 years and has only had two bad debts so far, representing a bad debt rate of 0.03 per cent per annum.

All loans on site are eligible to be held in a Money&Co. Innovative Finance Individual Savings Account (IFISA), up to the annual ISA limit of £20,000. Such loans offer lenders tax-free income. Our offering is an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) that can hold the peer-to-peer (P2P) business loans that Money&Co. facilitates. For the purposes of this article, the terms ISA and IFISA are interchangeable.

So here’s our guide to the process:

  • Step 1: Register as a lender. Go to the login page, and go through the process that the law requires us to effect. This means we have to do basic checks on you to comply with money-laundering and other security requirements.
  • Step 2: Put money into your account. This is best done by electronic transfer. We can also process paper cheques drawn in favour of Denmark Square Limited, the parent company of Money&Co.
  • Step 3: Buy loans in the loan market. Once you’ve put cash in your account it will sit there – and it won’t earn interest until you’ve bought a piece of a loan. It’s this final step that requires lenders and IFISA investors to be pro-active. Just choose some loans – all loans on the Money&Co. site can be held in an IFISA – and your money will start earning tax-free interest.

The ISA allowance for 2020/21 is unchanged from last tax year at £20,000, allowing a married couple to put £40,000 into a tax-free environment. Over three years, an investment of this scale in two Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISAs would generate £8,400 of income completely free of tax. We’re assuming a 7 per cent return, net of charges and free of tax here.

Once you have made your initial commitment, you might then consider diversifying – buying a spread of loans. To do this, you can go into the “loans for sale” market. All loans bought in this market also qualify for IFISA tax benefits.

Risk: Security, Access, Yield

Do consider not just the return, but the security and the ease of access to your investment. We write regularly about these three key factors. Here’s one of several earlier articles on security, access and yield.



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Disclaimer: Money&Co.™ is the trading name of Denmark Square Limited, Company Number 08561817, registered in England & Wales, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The company is identified on the Financial Services Register under Reference Number 727325. The registered office is 58 Glentham Road, Barnes, London, SW13 9JJ where the register of Directors may be inspected. Denmark Square Limited (ISA manager reference number Z1932) manages the Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISA.