Bank of Italy Now Partially Unblocks Lemonway

Yesterday, October 30th, the payment institution Lemonway, on which the operations of most Italian lending crowdfunding platforms are based, announced on its website that Bank of Italy has granted an extension to the block on its operations, initially scheduled to start on November 1st.

Last August 8t , Bank of Italy had issued a provisional measure that would have limited the operations of Lemonway as part of an inspection investigation, linked to issues of adaptation of internal procedures, AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and KYC (Know Your Customer) in relation to the entry into force of the new European Regulation 1503 of 2020.

The measure adopted by the Bank of Italy included a ban on the French fintech company from entering into new agreements for the provision of payment services, introducing new products or services for customers and opening new payment accounts for users of the platforms already affiliated.

However, until October 31st, 2024, this measure would not apply to the payment services offered by Lemonway to operators of crowdfunding portals already authorised under European Regulation 1503 of 2020.

Now, Lemonway has announced that, even after October 31st, the opening of new accounts for those who invest in lending crowdfunding platforms will be possible, albeit with some limitations.

Lemonway’s communication about Bank of Italy partially unblocking its activities

Here is the text published by Lemonway on its website: “The Bank of Italy has limited Lemonway’s operations in Italy. Lemonway cannot acquire new Italian partners or offer new products and services.

Starting November 1st, 2024, Lemonway will be subject to limits on the number of new payment accounts it can open: Up to 1,600 accounts in November 2024, 1,400 accounts in December 2024, 1,150 accounts per month starting January 2025.

These limits apply to platforms operated by current Italian partners, with the exception of accounts opened during ongoing fundraising campaigns, started before October 30th, 2024.
Lemonway is committed to respecting these guidelines and to supporting its partners and customers.”

A reasonable solution

In short, therefore, Bank fo Italy has given Lemonway time to adapt its systems to its (legitimate) requests, without penalizing in the meantime the Italian platforms that risked seeing their operations blocked, without however having any fault.

The number of new accounts granted to Lemonway in the next three months appears in fact compatible with the real dynamics of the market.

In fact, the sum of new issuers and new investors (i.e. those who need to open a new account) historically recorded by the platforms, at a first indicative analysis, appears to be congruent with respect to the number of accounts that Bank of Italy allows to be opened in the next 3 months of the transitional regime.

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(Featured image by Enrico Franscati via Unsplash)

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