EU publishes final draft rules on complaints handling for stablecoin issuers

• The European Banking Authority (EBA) published the draft rules on complaints handling procedures for issuers of Assets Referenced Tokens (ART) on March 13.
• EBA collaborated with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to draft the regulatory technical standards (RTS).
• These regulatory standards are part of MiCA provisions on stablecoins.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published draft rules outlining the regulatory standards applicable to stablecoin issuers in relation to consumer complaints.

EBA worked on the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) in collaboration with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

“In order to avoid diverging complaints handling procedures among issuers of asset referenced tokens and third-party entities, complainants should be able to file their complaints using a harmonised template valid for complaints handling procedures with issuers of asset-referenced tokens irrespective of where the issuer is established or where the token was distributed,” the EBA draft reads.

RTS will help ensure that the EU has “effective and transparent procedures for the prompt, fair and consistent handling of complaints.” It’s also for a level playing field in terms of handling the complaints across the EU.

MiCA provisions

The regulatory standards are part of the mandate for the European Banking Authority (EBA) as stated in Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) law.

MiCA became effective in the EU on June 29, 2023. One of its provisions was for EBA to draft rules related to Asset-Referenced Tokens, or stablecoins pegged to more than one fiat currency or cryptocurrencies.

EBA said in a press release published on Wednesday that a public consultation on the draft RTS happened between July 12 and October 12, 2023.

The draft standards will now go to the European Commission, the European Parliament and finally the European Council before their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

MiCA provisions on ART will apply from June 30, 2024.