Article 7
Safeguarding requirements
1.
Member States shall require an electronic money institution to safeguard funds that have been received in exchange for electronic money that has been issued, in accordance with Article 9(1) and (2) of Directive 2007/64/EC. Funds received in the form of payment by payment instrument need not be safeguarded until they are credited to the electronic money institution’s payment account or are otherwise made available to the electronic money institution in accordance with the execution time requirements laid down in the Directive 2007/64/EC, where applicable. In any event, such funds shall be safeguarded by no later than five business days, as defined in point 27 of Article 4 of that Directive, after the issuance of electronic money.
2.
For the purposes of paragraph 1, secure, low-risk assets are asset items falling into one of the categories set out in Table 1 of point 14 of Annex I to Directive 2006/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on the capital adequacy of investment firms and credit institutions (
2
) for which the specific risk capital charge is no higher than 1,6 %, but excluding other qualifying items as defined in point 15 of that Annex.
For the purposes of paragraph 1, secure, low-risk assets are also units in an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) which invests solely in assets as specified in the first subparagraph.
In exceptional circumstances and with adequate justification, the competent authorities may, based on an evaluation of security, maturity, value or other risk element of the assets as specified in the first and second subparagraphs, determine which of those assets do not constitute secure, low-risk assets for the purposes of paragraph 1.
3.
Article 9 of Directive 2007/64/EC shall apply to electronic money institutions for the activities referred to in Article 6(1)(a) of this Directive that are not linked to the activity of issuing electronic money.
4.
For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 3, Member States or their competent authorities may determine, in accordance with national legislation, which method shall be used by the electronic money institutions to safeguard funds.
( 2 ) OJ L 177, 30.6.2006, p. 201.