Thaer Sabri

Thaer is an expert on legal and regulatory issues relating to financial technologies, including electronic money, payments, crypto assets and open banking.

Thaer participates on behalf of industry in various organisations including the board of the European Payments Council, Open Banking forums and European Central Bank working groups relating to the Digital Euro. He advised on the first successful e-money issuer licence in 2002 and the first Payment Institution license in 2009. Thaer has been a member of the European Commission’s Payment Services Market Expert Group since its formation and a member of the UK Task Force on Payments. He is the chief executive officer of the Electronic Money Association. Thaer regularly speaks at conferences around the world and has published articles on e-money and payments, on crypto asset regulation and on money laundering matters. He represents the interests of the e-money, payments and crypto asset sectors with EU and global regulators, and has played a key role in the development of numerous regulatory regimes.

— Chief Executive of the Electronic Money Association non-bank payments trade body in the EU | 2001- Present

— Member of the Board of the European Payments Council | since 2015

— Member of the European Commission Payment Services Market Experts Group | 2005-2021

— Member of the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) API Scheme Working Group – and technical adviser to

the EMA Board representative

— Member of the European Banking Authority Banking Stakeholders Group, the statutory industry body with

which the EBA consults | 2016-2020