Crypto-funded debit card in San Marino

Law No. 171 of December 17, 2019, "Regulations for Distributed Ledger Technologies and Blockchain for Business" (Legge 171/2019): This law defines DLT, virtual assets, and establishes the framework for Operators in Distributed Ledger Technologies (ODLTs).

BCRA Circular No. 64 of 15 September 2020, "Disciplining the activities of Operators in Distributed Ledger Technologies": This circular provides detailed implementation rules for Law 171/2019, specifying the requirements for obtaining authorization (registration) as an ODLT.

BCRA Circular No. 67 of 11 May 2021, "Amendments and additions to Circular No. 64 of 15 September 2020": This circular introduced updates and clarifications to the initial implementing regulations.

Decree No. 120 of 21 August 2019, "Provisions against money laundering and terrorist financing": This AML/CFT law is applicable to ODLTs and virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

Exchanges (Virtual Asset Exchange Providers): Entities operating a platform for the exchange of virtual assets for fiat currencies, or between one or more forms of virtual assets. This falls squarely under the ODLT/VASP authorization requirement.

Custody Providers (Virtual Asset Custody Providers): Entities that provide services for the safekeeping or administration of virtual assets or instruments enabling control over virtual assets on behalf of natural or legal persons. This also requires ODLT/VASP authorization.

If the payment processing involves the transfer, exchange, or facilitation of payments directly in virtual assets, or between virtual assets and fiat currency, the entity would be considered an ODLT/VASP and requires authorization.

If the entity is a traditional fiat payment processor merely providing services to a crypto business (e.g., handling fiat payments for a crypto exchange, but not touching virtual assets itself), it would fall under traditional payment services regulations, which also require BCRA authorization (e.g., as a Payment Institution). However, for crypto-specific payment processing, ODLT authorization is necessary.

Transferring virtual assets.

Participation in and provision of financial services related to an issuer's offer and/or sale of a virtual asset.

Providing other services related to virtual assets.

Legal Form & Establishment:

Must be a joint-stock company (Società per Azioni - S.p.A.) or a limited liability company (Società a responsabilità limitata - S.r.l.) established in San Marino.

Must have its registered office and effective management in San Marino.

Minimum Share Capital:

€150,000 for ODLTs that do not provide direct services to the public, do not hold client funds/virtual assets, and whose activity carries a low risk profile as assessed by the BCRA.

€300,000 for ODLTs providing services directly to the public (including VASPs like exchanges and custody providers) and holding client funds or virtual assets.

The BCRA may require a higher capital amount based on the complexity, scale, and risk profile of the proposed activities.

Capital must be fully paid up.

ODLTs are considered "financial intermediaries" under San Marino's AML/CFT legislation (Decree 120/2019) and are subject to all related obligations.

Implementing robust Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedures for all clients (identifying and verifying identity, beneficial ownership).

Conducting risk assessments for business relationships and transactions.

Implementing comprehensive internal controls, policies, and procedures for AML/CFT.

Appointing an AML Officer and a Board-level AML Compliance Officer.

Establishing a Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR) mechanism and reporting to the Financial Intelligence Agency (AIF).

Banca Centrale della Repubblica di San Marino (BCRSM) - The Central Bank of the Republic of San Marino. It is the primary financial regulator responsible for licensing, supervision, and ongoing oversight of virtual asset service providers.

URL (AIF): https://www.aif.sm/

Legge n. 200 del 19 dicembre 2023 – "Disposizioni per la prevenzione e il contrasto del riciclaggio e del finanziamento del terrorismo, nonché modifiche e integrazioni a leggi in materia di vigilanza prudenziale e di gestione delle crisi degli enti creditizi e finanziari."

Regolamento della Banca Centrale della Repubblica di San Marino n. 2023-01 – "Regolamento in materia di prestatori di servizi relativi ad attività virtuali (VASP)."

Identification and Verification:

Natural Persons: Obtain and verify identity using reliable, independent source documents, data, or information (e.g., name, date of birth, place of birth, address, nationality, official identification number/document type).

Legal Persons/Arrangements: Obtain and verify legal name, legal form, address, proof of existence, powers that regulate and bind the legal person/arrangement, and names of individuals authorized to act on its behalf.

Beneficial Ownership (BO):

Identify the beneficial owner(s) (natural person(s) who ultimately own or control the customer and/or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted).

Verify the identity of the beneficial owner(s) using relevant information and data.

For legal persons, this typically involves identifying natural persons holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or exercising control through other means.

Purpose and Intended Nature of Business Relationship: Obtain information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship or occasional transaction.

Conduct ongoing monitoring of the business relationship and transactions undertaken throughout the course of that relationship.

Ensure that the documents, data, or information collected under the CDD process are kept up-to-date.

Risk-Based Approach (RBA): VASPs must implement a risk-based approach to AML/CFT, meaning they should:

Assess their ML/TF risks, considering factors such as customer type, services offered, virtual asset types, geographic areas, and delivery channels.

Apply CDD measures proportionate to the identified risks.

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD): Apply EDD in higher-risk situations, including but not limited to:

Relationships with Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs).

Cross-border correspondent relationships.

Complex, unusual, large transactions, and all unusual patterns of transactions that have no apparent economic or lawful purpose.

Transactions involving high-risk jurisdictions.

Use of new technologies or products that favor anonymity.

Legge Delegata n. 129 del 2019 – Legge per le tecnologie a registro distribuito (Delegated Law No. 129 of 2019 – Law for Distributed Ledger Technologies - DLT Law): This is the foundational law that provides the legal framework for DLT-based activities, defines types of tokens, and delegates regulatory power to the BCRSM for DLTs applied to financial instruments.

E-money Tokens/Payment Tokens:

For E-money Tokens: If a stablecoin is classified as e-money, strict reserve requirements apply, consistent with EU e-money directives. This typically means:

Full Backing: The issuer must hold assets equivalent to the value of the e-money in circulation.

Segregation: These assets must be segregated from the issuer's operational funds and held in secure accounts (e.g., credit institutions).

Authorized Operator for Distributed Ledger Technologies (ODLT): Law 129/2019 introduced the concept of an "Authorized Operator for Distributed Ledger Technologies" (ODLT). All entities wishing to operate DLT-based activities in San Marino that involve regulated financial instruments or services must obtain authorization from the BCRSM.

Specific Financial Licenses: Beyond the ODLT authorization, an issuer of stablecoins would need to obtain specific financial licenses depending on the classification of their token:

E-money Institution License: For stablecoins classified as e-money.

Lack of Direct Fiat/Asset Backing: Algorithmic stablecoins, which rely on software algorithms and market incentives rather than direct fiat or collateral backing to maintain their peg, would not likely qualify as e-money tokens under San Marino's framework due to the absence of the required full and segregated fiat reserves.

No Licensed DLT Service Providers (as of last major assessment): A key finding from the MONEYVAL (Council of Europe anti-money laundering body) "Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation Report on San Marino" published in July 2022 stated:

MONEYVAL Report (July 2022):

Subject to Corporate Income Tax (Imposta Generale sul Reddito - IGR): Companies or entities whose core business involves crypto-assets (e.g., exchanges, mining operations, crypto funds, professional trading firms) will have their capital gains from crypto-asset sales taxed as part of their general business income.

Current IGR Rate: The standard corporate income tax (IGR) rate in San Marino is 17%. Special reduced rates or incentives may apply to new businesses or specific types of activities under certain conditions.

Following the precedent set by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and widely adopted by countries with VAT, the exchange of traditional fiat currency for cryptocurrencies (and vice-versa) is generally treated as the supply of financial services.

As such, these transactions are typically exempt from IMF. This means there is no IMF charged on the buying or selling of cryptocurrencies themselves.

Services Related to Crypto:

Licensing and Supervision: Entities engaged in crypto-asset services (e.g., exchanges, custodians, issuers) must obtain a license from the Central Bank of San Marino (BCSM) and are subject to its ongoing supervision.