Obliged entities

Obliged entities are entities that carry out activities that can be used for money laundering or terrorist financing. Obliged entities are listed under Article 2 of Act no. 140/2018 on Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.

The function of the Central Bank of Iceland is to supervise these entities and ensure that they comply with the provisions of the aforementioned Act, i.e. that they know the identity of their customers and their activities and notify the competent authorities of suspicious transactions.

List of obliged entities

The following entities are obliged entities:

• Financial undertakings according to the definition in the Act on Financial Undertakings
• Operators of alternative investment funds under the Act on Alternative Investment Funds
  
• Management companies of UCITS under the Act on UCITS
  
• Creditors and credit intermediaries in accordance with the Act on Consumer Credit and Act on Consumer Mortgages, which are not also covered under point n of the Act.
  
• Life insurance companies in accordance with the Act on Insurance Activities;
  
• Insurance brokers and insurance agents in accordance with the Act on Insurance Intermediation when they broker life insurance or other risk and savings-related insurance.
  
• Payment institutions in accordance with the Act on Payment Services;
  
• Electronic money institutions in accordance with the Act on the Issuance and Handling of Electronic Money.
  
• Branches of foreign companies located in Iceland and falling under points a – e of the first paragraph of Article 2 of Act no. 140/2018.
  
• Agents and distributors representing foreign financial institutions with operations in Iceland falling under points a-e of the first paragraph of Article 2 of Act no. 140/2018.
  
• Pension funds according to the definition of the Act on Mandatory Pension Insurance and on the Activities of Pension Funds.
  
• Currency exchange services, excluding those who meet all of the following conditions:
  
  • Currency exchange is an ancillary activity that is directly related to the party's main activity and only provided to the party's customers,
  • The total turnover of foreign exchange transactions amounts to less than ISK 5 million per year, and
  • Currency exchanges for an individual customer do not exceed ISK 100,000, whether the transaction takes place in a single transaction or several that seem to be related to each other.
• Virtual asset service providers
  

Creditors and credit intermediaries in accordance with the Act on Consumer Loans

Consumer loans are individual loans taken out, irrespective of the borrower's business activity, from an entity whose profession it is to issue loans, in accordance with Act no. 33/2013. A creditor can be an individual, company, public entity or group that provides loans for commercial purposes. Creditors and credit intermediaries that offer consumer loans must be registered with the Icelandic Consumer Agency. However, this does not apply to parties who are authorised to grant loans to consumers under special laws or are considered regulated parties according to the Act on the Official Supervision of Financial Activities.

The purpose of the Consumer Credit Act is to provide consumers with a certain protection and ensure the provision of a variety of information to the lender before a loan agreement is made.

Consumer loans can be varied, such as bonds, overdraft facilities, car contracts, instalment payment agreements and small loans.

The Consumer Agency monitors lenders and credit intermediaries to ensure they comply with the Act of Consumer Loans.

The Central Bank supervises to ensure that the activities of the above parties comply with the Act on Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, as well as regulations and rules issued on the basis of that Act.

Information on registered lenders in Iceland can be found on the Consumer Agency's website .