The Electronic Money Association (EMA) held its 3rd Conference on 'The European Payment Services Directive and Global Developments in Payments Regulation' on 24 November 2009 at the London Marriott Hotel West India Quay.

The payments framework in the US is undergoing huge changes at the moment, and both Japan and Russia are a new framework is being developed in Russia and Japan. Speakers described developments, and the opportunities that the different regimes provide. A further key theme was the effect of the credit crunch on regulatory attitudes generally.

The conference also focused on the practical impact of the European Payment Services Directive, and several payment service providers described the process of implementing local regulations, and the expected role of payment institutions in the coming years. We reviewed the recently published and revised Electronic Money Directive, and explored the expanded role of issuers under this regime.

Speakers included:

• Stephen Middlebrook, senior counsel, US Department of Treasury

• Evgeniya Zavalishina, general manager, Yandex.Money

• Taiji Inui, NTT Data Corporation, previously head of payments policy, Bank of Japan

• William Lorenz, banking and compliance director, Ixaris

• Helmut Bauer, previously head of banking supervision at Bafin and head of global regulatory affairs at Deutsche Bank