Bitpanda and Common Reporting Standard

[numibo]

Do any of you know if Bitpanda adheres to the Common Reporting Standard CRS?
Thanks!

 

[Sols]

Bitpanda is licensed as an E-Money Institution and as such should be expected to adhere to CRS.

 

[numibo]

Based on what I have read here on the forum it seems the opposite, that is that the EMIs are not obliged to the CRS. Banks, on the other hand, have this obligation. I err?

 

[Sols]

There is no exemption in CRS for non-bank financial institutions, so payment institutions, EMIs, et cetera are included. However, there have been delays with getting non-bank financial institutions to comply. But that's ending. So the smart thing to do is to plan as if EMIs and such as already reporting because either they are, or they are about to.

 

[numibo]

Thank you. The source of this information? Wise, on the other hand, on his website says that he does not exchange information. It doesn't seem like a question of delays, but that EMIs seem excluded from the CRS.

 

[Sols]

Source: CRS itself. There is no exemption for EMIs. For example, let's take this FAQ from OECD (https://www.oecd.org/tax/exchange-of-tax-information/CRS-related-FAQs.pdf):

8. E-money providers – qualification as a Depository Institution
What is the status of electronic money providers for CRS purposes?
No special rules apply to electronic money providers. Like other financial industry participants, they must determine
whether they are a Financial Institution, as defined by the CRS

Wise states two different things on their website.

On one page (How does tax work with my Wise account? | Wise Help Centre), they state:

Wise Limited (Wise) is a UK company authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Electronic Money Institution. We are still evaluating the impact of the Common Reporting Standards, including FATCA, to our business and how we will adopt the new requirements. At this time we are not reporting this information to HMRC or any other tax authority.

This hasn't been updated in years, and is specifically about Wise UK.

On another (What taxes do I need to pay when I use Assets? | Wise Help Centre), they state:

Who does Wise share tax information with?
We’ll only share your tax information with relevant government tax authorities if we need to. This is so Wise complies with international tax standards like the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).