LEGAL ASPECTS OF ELECTRONIC MONEY

The term "electronic money" first appeared in the law of the Czech Republic in Act No. 124/2002 Coll., on the Transfer of financial means, electronic payment tools and payment systems (Act on the System of Payment). Electronic money was a category of the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council 2000/46/ES dated 18th September 2000 on the Approach to the operation of Electronic Money Institutions, on their performance and caution supervision over this operation that was transposed into this act in addition to other directives. After the abrogation a new act was adopted, published under 284/2009 Coll., on the system of payment, reflecting the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council 2009/110/ES dated 16th September 2009 on the Approach to the operation of Electronic Money Institutions, on their performance and caution supervision over this operation. As a result of the transposition of two directives that among others modified the term "electronic money" and other potential categories related to electronic money, this category underwent and is undergoing certain changes which, however, can have substantial impact on the current practice in terms of issuing and subsequent use of electronic money. The essay shall thus focus on the analysis of the legal characteristics of the original category "electronic money" and its subsequent changes. Their definitions will be compared and author's opinion on their possible practical impact will be presented. The report has been elaborated as part of a GACR project entitled "After-crisis bank regulation and its impact on the economic activity in a small export-oriented economy", project ref. No. 13-08549S; the beneficiary and solver is the University of Finance and Administration (VSFS).