Electronic money was regulated in the European Union by Directive 2000/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on the taking up, pursuit of and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions, later repealed and replaced by Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009. The current transposition in Spain of the legal regime for electronic money can be found in Law 21/2011 of 26 July 2011 on electronic money and in Royal Decree 778/2012 of 4 May 2012 on the legal regime for electronic money institutions. The relevant provisions contained in Royal Decree-Law 19/2018 of 23 November on payment services and other urgent financial measures and in Law 41/1999 of 12 November on payment and securities settlement systems should also be borne in mind.

El soporte del dinero electrónico puede adoptar distintos formatos tales como una tarjeta inteligente (Smart card), un programa informático, una app o un token (ficha digital). Este último formato de moneda “virtual” o digital ha sido objeto de regulación, en cuanto criptomoneda, por medio del Reglamento (UE) 2023/1114 del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 31 de mayo de 2023, relativo a los mercados de criptoactivos y por el que se modifican los Reglamentos (UE) nº 1093/2010 y (UE) nº 1095/2010 y las Directivas 2013/36/UE y (UE) 2019/1937 (MiCA: Markets in Crypto-assets).

However, a double regulatory proposal has already been announced that will involve the modification or, at least, the regulatory “transfer” of the substantive legal regime of electronic money, which will affect, at least formally, the MiCA Regulation. These are the proposals for new regulation of payment services in the European Union, namely: the proposal for a third Payment Services Directive, which would replace and repeal Directives 2015/2366 (payment services) and 2009/110/EC (electronic money institutions) [vid. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on payment services and electronic money services in the Internal Market, amending Directive 98/26/EC and repealing Directives (EU) 2015/2366 and 2009/110/EC, Brussels, 28.6.2023 COM(2023) 366 final, 2023/0209 (COD), and the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on payment services in the internal market and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, Brussels, 28.6.2023, COM(2023) 367 final, 2023/0210 (COD), Recital 5 of which states that the specific regime for issuing, distributing and redeeming electronic money is to be maintained.

Article 2(2) of Directive 2009/110/EC defines “electronic money” as “means electronically, including magnetically, stored monetary value as represented by a claim on the issuer which is issued on receipt of funds for the purpose of making payment transactions […] and which is accepted by a natural or legal person other than the electronic money issuer”. Article 1.2 of Law 21/2011 defines it as follows: “Electronic money shall mean any monetary value stored by electronic or magnetic means representing a claim on the issuer, which is issued on receipt of funds for the purpose of making payment transactions (…), and which is accepted by a natural or legal person other than the issuer of electronic money”.

Desde la perspectiva del Reglamento MiCA, el concepto de dinero electrónico es un prius que viene dado por la citada Directiva 2009/110/CE. Por ello precisamente su regulación queda excluida del ámbito de aplicación del Reglamento (art. 2.4.c). Regula los tókenes de dinero electrónico, pero no contiene el régimen jurídico sustantivo del dinero electrónico. Se remite (art. 48, entre otros) a la Directiva 2009/110/CE. En esta se contiene el régimen jurídico general del dinero electrónico y en el Reglamento MiCA el régimen específico del dinero electrónico “tokenizado” (ficha de dinero electrónico), al que habrá que aplicar el régimen general conceptual del dinero electrónico y el específico de su formato como criptoactivo (basado en tecnología de registro distribuido –blockchain– o similar). Actualmente priman los sistemas que utilizan criptografía asimétrica y registros descentralizados. Pero el Reglamento MiCA deja la puerta abierta al uso de otras tecnologías cuando en su artículo 3.1.5) define «Criptoactivo» como “una representación digital de valor o derechos que puede transferirse y almacenarse electrónicamente, mediante la tecnología de registro descentralizado o una tecnología similar.”

As regards the e-money token, the Regulation defines it in Article 3(1)(7) as “e-money token” as “a type of crypto-asset that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing the value of one official currency”.

Accordingly, it should be noted that the e-money token:

  • Es un criptoactivo, esto es: 
    • una representación digital intangible (token no físico), que puede almacenarse y transferirse electrónicamente, y
    • utiliza blockchain (criptografía y tecnología de registro distribuido) u otra tecnología similar.
  • It is electronic money (Art. 48.2 MiCA Regulation), the substantive legal regime of which is outside the MiCA Regulation.
  • It represents a claim on the issuer (Art. 48.2 MiCA Regulation).
  • It is designed as a payment instrument and referenced to an official currency in order to maintain a stable value in correspondence with that currency. While its primary purpose is to serve, as money, as a medium of exchange, it can also be traded on a digital platform or organised marketplace.
  • In addition to being reusable, as electronic money, it confers a right of reimbursement against the issuer free of charge.

— Agustín Madrid Parra, Emeritus Professor of Commercial Law at the Pablo de Olavide University of Seville

How to cite this post: Madrid Parra, A., ‘’Tokens, dinero electrónico (en ficha digital)’, La clave de BAES, 31 de enero de 2024, https://www.baeslegalcripto.eu/legalcripto/tokens-dinero-electronico/

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