French Monetary and Financial Code
In forceI. - 1° Any payment institution having its registered office in mainland France, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion Island, Mayotte or Saint-Martin and wishing to carry on business in another Member State of the European Union or party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area under the freedom of establishment or the freedom to provide services shall notify the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution of its plans. This notification must be accompanied by information of a type determined by order of the Minister responsible for the economy.
Within a period set by regulation following receipt of all this information, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution communicates it to the competent authorities of the host State;
2° Within a period set by regulation following receipt of all the information mentioned in 1°, and subject to the provisions of 3°, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution shall communicate its decision to the competent authorities of the host State and to the payment institution concerned.
Where the payment institution intends to carry on its business by establishing a branch or through an agent, it may begin to carry on business in the host State concerned as soon as the branch is registered on the list provided for in Article L. 612-21 or the agent is registered in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 523-1. The payment institution shall inform the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution of the effective date of commencement of its activities in the host State concerned.
Where the payment institution intends to carry on its business under the freedom to provide services, it may begin to carry on business in the host State concerned upon receipt of the communication referred to in the first paragraph;
3° The Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution may, in particular on the basis of any information, concerns or unfavourable assessment communicated by the authorities of the host State, refuse to authorise the payment institution concerned to carry on business under the freedom of establishment or the freedom to provide services, or revoke the authorisation if it has already been granted.
Where the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution does not agree with the assessment communicated by the competent authorities of the host State, it shall inform them of the reasons for its decision.
II. - 1° Within the limits of the payment services that it is authorised to provide in the territory of its home State other than France and depending on the authorisation that it has received there, any payment institution may carry on business in the territory of mainland France, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte or Saint-Martin, under the freedom of establishment or the freedom to provide services, provided that the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution has been informed by the competent authority of the home State in accordance with the provisions of the delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 28.5 of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market.
Where this payment institution intends to use agents and fulfils the criteria set out in the delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 29.5 and 29.7 of the aforementioned Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015, it shall designate a central contact point established in the territory of mainland France, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte or Saint-Martin. This central contact point is responsible for communicating information relating to compliance with the provisions of Section 5 of Chapter II of Title I of Book I, Chapter III of Title III of Book I, Chapter IV of Title I of Book III and Chapter I of Title II of Book V in order to facilitate supervision by the competent authorities of the home country and the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution ;
2° Within a period to be determined by regulation following receipt of all the information referred to in 1°, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution shall assess this information and, where applicable, communicate to the home state authorities any adverse assessment or relevant information relating to the provision of payment services envisaged by the payment institution concerned under the freedom of establishment or the freedom to provide services, and in particular any concerns relating to a risk of money laundering or terrorist financing in connection with the proposed establishment of a branch or use of an agent ;
3° With a view to supervising a payment institution referred to in 1°, the competent authorities of its home country may, after informing the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution in advance, carry out on-site inspections of its branches and agents established in mainland France, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, La Réunion, Mayotte or Saint-Martin.
These branches and agents are subject to the professional secrecy requirements set out in Article L. 522-19.
