Appointment of a central contact person § 41 ZAG

Appointment of a central contact person § 41 ZAG – Inquire online now . Are you planning to appoint a central contact person according to § 41 ZAG? S+P Compliance Services takes on the tasks of ensuring compliance with the regulations on combating money laundering and terrorist financing in Germany.

Outsourcing of money laundering officer? With S+P Compliance Services you get a tailor-made solution for your company and your business model. As the central contact point, we take on the following tasks to set up audit-proof risk management for compliance with the regulations on combating money laundering and terrorist financing in Germany:

1. Central contact person § 41 ZAG:

An institution with its registered office in another Member State that operates in Germany in a form other than a branch office must, upon request by BaFin, name a central contact person in Germany.

2. Fulfillment of the requirements for the submission of documents and the submission of information.

3. As the Central Contact Point, we facilitate the development and implementation of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing policies and procedures in accordance with Article 8(3) and (4) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 by contacting the e-money issuer or payment service provider, the S +P, inform about the requirements applicable in the host Member State in relation to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism;

4. S+P, on behalf of the e-money issuer or payment service provider that has appointed S+P, oversees the effective compliance of the relevant branches with the requirements applicable in the host Member State in relation to combating money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as the policies, controls and procedures of the e-money issuer or payment service provider adopted pursuant to Article 8(3) and (4) of Directive (EU) 2015/849;

5. S+P shall inform the head office of the e-money issuer or payment service provider that has nominated S+P of any non-compliance or compliance issues found in the relevant branches, including circumstances affecting the ability of the branch may effectively apply the e-money issuer’s or payment service provider’s anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism policies and procedures, or which may otherwise affect the risk assessment of the e-money issuer or payment service provider;

6. S+P, on behalf of the e-money issuer or payment service provider that has appointed S+P, ensures that corrective measures are taken if the relevant branches do not comply with the applicable regulations on combating money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism or the risk insists that they do not comply with them;

7. On behalf of the e-money issuer or payment service provider who has appointed S+P, S+P ensures that the branches concerned and their staff participate in further training programs within the meaning of Article 46 paragraph 1 of Directive (EU) 2015/849 take part;

8. S+P represents the e-money issuer or payment service provider who has appointed S+P in dealings with the competent authorities and the central reporting office of the host member state.

#1 Appointment of a central contact person § 41 ZAG

E-money issuers and payment service providers can designate a single point of contact to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regulations on behalf of the institution that has designated them, and to facilitate oversight by the competent authorities.

Member States may require the designation of a single point of contact when payment service providers and e-money issuers provide services on their territory through establishments that are not branches; however, this does not apply if the services are provided without a branch.

The obligation to designate a central contact point also appears justified if a Member State considers that the operation of such an establishment entails an increased risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, which e.g. B. based on an assessment of the money laundering and terrorist financing risk associated with certain categories of payment service providers or e-money issuers. Member States should not be obliged to carry out a risk assessment of individual institutions for this purpose.

Where a single point of contact is designated, it should ensure, on behalf of the e-money issuer or payment service provider that designated it, that its establishments comply with applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing rules.

To this end, the single point of contact should have a solid knowledge of applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing legislation and facilitate the development and implementation of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing policies and procedures.

The single point of contact should inter alia act in the relationship between the electronic money issuer or payment service provider that has designated it and its branches, and in the relationship between the electronic money issuer or payment service provider and the competent authorities of the Member State in which the branches operate have a central coordinating role to facilitate branch supervision.

Member States should be able to decide, based on their overall assessment of the money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with the activities of payment service providers and electronic money issuers established on their territory in a form other than a branch, that central contact points in perform their duty to ensure compliance with local anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing obligations. In particular, it might be appropriate for Member States to require single contact points to report to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the host Member State on whose territory the obliged entity is established:

#2 EU Delegated Regulation 2018/1108 on the designation of central contact points for e-money issuers and payment service providers

With COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2018/1108 of 7 May 2018 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards, the criteria for the designation of central contact points for e-money issuers and payment service providers and their tasks.

#3 Article 3 regulates the criteria for the designation of a central contact point + Appointment of a central contact person § 41 ZAG

Host Member States may require electronic money issuers and payment service providers established on their territory in a form other than a branch and whose head office is in another Member State to designate a central contact point if one of the following criteria is met:

a) The e-money issuer or the payment service provider maintains at least ten branches.

b) The total amount of e-money issued and redeemed or the total value of payment transactions executed by the branches is expected to exceed EUR 3 million per financial year or exceeded EUR 3 million in the previous financial year.

Without prejudice to those criteria, host Member States may require certain categories of electronic money issuers and payment service providers established on their territory in a form other than a branch and whose head office is in another Member State to designate a single point of contact where: this is reasonable considering the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing associated with the operation of the branch.

Host Member States shall base their assessment of the money laundering or terrorist financing risk associated with the operation of the establishments on the results of the risk assessments referred to in Article 6(1) and Article 7(1) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 and on other credible and reliable sources made available to them be available.

As part of this assessment, host Member States shall take into account at least the following criteria:

• the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with the type of products and services offered and the distribution channels used;
• the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with the types of customers;
• the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing arising from the prevalence of casual transactions versus established business relationships;
• the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with the countries and geographic areas served.

Without prejudice to this criterion, a host Member State may, exceptionally, authorize its competent authority to require an electronic money issuer or payment service provider established in its territory in a form other than a branch and whose head office is in another Member State to central contact point where the host Member State has reasonable grounds to believe that the establishments of that electronic money issuer or payment service provider pose a high risk of money laundering or terrorist financing .

#4 Article 4 governs ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulations

The central contact point ensures that branches within the meaning of Article 45 (9) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 comply with the host Member State’s regulations on combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

The central contact point is responsible for the following tasks:

• It facilitates the development and implementation of anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing policies and procedures in accordance with Article 8(3) and (4) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 by informing the e-money issuer or payment service provider that designated them about the informed of the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing requirements applicable in the host Member State;
• it oversees, on behalf of the electronic money issuer or payment service provider that has appointed it, the effective compliance of the relevant establishments with the requirements applicable in the host Member State in relation to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as the policies, controls and procedures of electronic money -issuers or payment service providers accepted in accordance with Article 8(3) and (4) of Directive (EU) 2015/849;
• informing the head office of the e-money issuer or payment service provider that designated them of any non-compliance or compliance issues found at the relevant establishments, including circumstances that may affect the ability of the establishment, policies and procedures of the e-money issuer or payment service provider for the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, or which may otherwise affect the risk assessment of the e-money issuer or payment service provider;
• ensure, on behalf of the e-money issuer or payment service provider that appointed it, that corrective action is taken where the relevant establishments do not comply or risk not complying with the applicable anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism rules progeny;
• on behalf of the e-money issuer or payment service provider that appointed it, ensure that the establishments concerned and their staff participate in training programs within the meaning of Article 46(1) of Directive (EU) 2015/849;
• she represents the e-money issuer or payment service provider who appointed her in dealings with the competent authorities and the FIU of the host Member State.

#5 Article 5 Facilitation of supervision by the competent authorities of the host Member State

The single contact points facilitate the competent authorities of the host Member State to supervise establishments within the meaning of Article 45(9) of Directive (EU) 2015/849.

To this end, the single point of contact shall act as follows on behalf of the e-money issuer or payment service provider that appointed it:

• She represents the e-money issuer or payment service provider who appointed her in dealings with the competent authorities;
• it accesses information held by the branches concerned;
• respond to any request from the competent authorities in relation to the activities of the branches concerned, provide the competent authorities with relevant information held by the electronic money issuer or payment service provider that designated them or by the branches concerned and reports regularly as appropriate;
• it facilitates on-site inspections in the branches concerned at the request of the competent authorities.

#6 Article 6 Additional tasks of a central contact point + Appointment of a central contact person § 41 ZAG

In addition to the tasks referred to in Articles 4 and 5, host Member States may require single contact points to carry out one or more of the following tasks on behalf of the electronic money issuer or payment service provider that appointed them:

• report in accordance with the national legislation of the host Member State transposing Article 33(1) of Directive (EU) 2015/849;
• to respond to any request from the FIU related to the activities of the branches pursuant to Article 45(9) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 and to provide the FIU with relevant information in relation to the branches concerned;
• carry out checks, where appropriate, to identify suspicious transactions, taking into account the size and complexity of the transactions of the electronic money issuer or payment service provider in the host Member State.

Host Member States may require central contact points to carry out one or more of the additional tasks referred to in paragraph 1, where those additional tasks are commensurate with the overall money laundering and terrorist financing risk posed by the activities of the relevant payment service providers and electronic money issuers set out in their territory are established in a form other than a branch.