Chaplian S. Regulation of issuance and circulation of electronic means of payment

The study provides the reasons for the introduction of a separate group of electronic means of payment defined by the criterion of electronic form of existence – in form of electronic records in the relevant databases (ledgers). Electronic means of payment can be classified as follows: 1) monetary (money in electronic form) and quasi-monetary (highly liquid means of payment other than money); 2) fiat (means of payment with a nominal value defined by the state) and non-fiat (means of payment with a nominal value defined by private persons – issuers); 3) secured (the value is backed by fiat money or other assets) and unsecured (the value is neither backed by anything nor guaranteed by anyone); 4) prepaid (i.e. against prepaid funds) and non-prepaid (received in any other way, for instance by direct issuance, such as mining). Monetary electronic means of payment can include central bank digital currency, quasi-monetary means of payment can encompass electronic money, virtual currencies and special bonuses issued by retailers within customer loyalty programs for internal payments. Quasi-monetary electronic means of payment cannot be qualified as money, as they do not possess absolute liquidity and are not recognized as money by the competent state authorities. However, they could replace money funds in settlements and perform payment function under the consent of the parties to the contract. These means of payment have different legal nature and both have specific features regarding their issuance and circulation. At the same time both means of payment have common features and are based on the common principles of turnover. This allows to assign them both to the category of electronic means of payment. The present thesis made a distinction between electronic means of payment, which represent a certain equipment which makes the transfer of the electronic payment units from the transferer to the recipient possible, and between electronic means of payment which are the payment units themselves in electronic form. Considering to the above stated the author proposed to define the concept of electronic means of payment as units of payment that exist in the form of electronic records in the memory of computers; or as electronic means of payment (payment cards etc.) that have no material form, are created by persons other than the issuer, and circulate by virtue of making appropriate entries in their register/ledger. The present thesis provides a theoretical justification for introduction of the legal concept of the electronic means of payment as a set of legal rules defining the definition, principles and the procedure of issuance and circulation of the electronic means of payment. In particular, these legal norms would define the categories of means of payment and the types of their issuers, types of transactions in scope as well as the general mechanism of supervision and control over their circulation and over the activity of the participants of the respective legal relations. Furthermore, the present research determines that the means of payment should be understood as funds and other valuables that are transferred by one person (debtor) to another person (creditor) for the purpose of fulfillment (repayment) of a debt. Additionally, the present study provides a substantiated reasoning for the use of the valuables other than cash as a means of payment. Considering the above stated a payment is an action aimed at fulfilling (and, as a result, repaying) a debt obligation by transferring money funds or other valuables by the debtor to the creditor. This research paper pays a particular attention to the analysis of foreign legal norms regulating issuance and circulation of the electronic means of payment. The present study focuses on the theoretical views on money funds. In particular. The author provided a definition for money as property rights object in the form of units of value, which are created (issued) or recognized by the competent state authorities as universal means of exchange and payment to be used as such within a certain territory (or in a particular state), have the highest level of liquidity and are usually legal tender. The author provided a definition for quasi-money as highly liquid assets that can be quickly exchanged for cash and used as a stand-alone means of payment. The author proposed to consolidate at the legislative level the distinction between different groups of virtual assets: 1) universal means of payment; 2) securities; 3) other virtual assets. The author pointed out the need to differentiate virtual currencies and virtual assets that do not qualify as a means of payment from the legislative perspective. Furthermore, the National Bank of Ukraine should be provided with the respective authority to supervise and control transactions with the purpose to prevent their uncontrolled impact on the monetary system and policy of Ukraine.