PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: João G Gil Figueira, Rodrigue Devillet Lima and Catarina Andrade Miranda, GFDL Advogados
and EMTs, for conduct-of-business supervision of CASPs and for market abuse matters. • The Bank of Portugal and the CMVM co-operate in the CASP authorisation process. • A grandfathering regime applies, allowing entities registered with the Bank of Portugal under the pre - vious virtual asset service provider (VASP) regime to continue operating until 1 July 2026, or until an authorisation under MiCA is granted or refused, whichever occurs first. With respect to the key regulatory bodies, Portugal relies on two administrative authorities vested with regulatory, supervisory and sanctioning powers, each acting within its respective area of competence: • the Bank of Portugal, acting as the Portuguese central bank and a member of the European Sys - tem of Central Banks under the European Central Bank, is responsible for the supervision of credit institutions, payment institutions, electronic money institutions and, under MiCA, for the prudential supervision and certain authorisation functions relating to CASPs; and • the Securities Market Commission (CMVM), which supervises securities offerings, capital markets and asset management activities in Portugal, is also the competent authority for authorising crowdfunding activities and, where relevant, may request tech - nical opinions from the Bank of Portugal in that context. For entities already registered with the Bank of Por - tugal to conduct activities with virtual assets, MiCA’s new requirements will present challenges. These enti - ties may continue their operations during the transi - tional period until 1 July 2026, although Portugal has yet to issue the domestic regulations required to fully regulate MiCA’s implementation. It is important to note that each EU member state may opt for a shorter tran - sitional period. Regardless of this, companies previ - ously registered with the Bank of Portugal must seek MiCA authorisation to ensure full compliance within the defined timelines. MiCA’s rigorous requirements are expected to strengthen the crypto market by filtering out provid - ers lacking solid foundations, thereby creating a more
stable and transparent ecosystem that appeals to established financial institutions. In terms of technological integration, the MiCA regu - lation’s transparency and consumer protection pro - visions are likely to encourage fintech companies in Portugal to adopt advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). AI will play a crucial role in enhancing compliance, risk management and cus - tomer service, facilitating the digital transformation of the sector. AI is already pivotal in the global fin - tech landscape and is set to continue driving trans - formative changes in Portugal, particularly in banking digitalisation, fraud prevention, risk management, and insurtech applications. 2. Fintech Business Models and Regulation in General 2.1 Predominant Business Models Portuguese fintechs are a varied group of ventures. Fintech verticals in Portugal include: • payment services; • neobanks; • capital raising instruments; • lending platforms; • bank account aggregators; • personal finance apps; • crowdfunding platforms; and • insurance providers. Established legacy players are also present in invest - ing, developing or promoting fintechs. The largest number of players follow a business-to-business model. 2.2 Regulatory Regime There is no general provision regulating the fintech industry in Portugal. The applicable regulatory frame - work is dispersed and depends on the client’s busi - ness model, sector and type of clientele. Despite a case-by-case assessment being imperative, it is gen - erally possible to identify the main regulatory frame - work that will likely apply to new fintechs.
643 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook