Funds collected in return for the issuance of electronic money shall be protected in accordance with one of the following two methods:
1° The funds collected shall under no circumstances be confused with the funds of natural or legal persons other than the electronic money holders.
Cash collected in return for the issue of electronic money shall be deposited in a separate account with a credit institution authorised to receive funds on demand from the public, no later than the end of the business day, within the meaning of d of article L. 133-4, following their collection.
Funds otherwise collected in exchange for the issue of electronic money are deposited in the account referred to in the second paragraph of this 1° as soon as they are credited to the account of the electronic money institution and, in any event, no later than five working days, within the meaning of Article L. 133-4 d, following the issue of the electronic money.
They may also be invested in financial instruments held in accounts opened specifically for this purpose with a legal entity mentioned in 2° to 5° of article L. 542-1, under conditions set by order of the Minister for the Economy.
These funds are protected, under the conditions laid down in Article L. 613-30-1, against any recourse by other creditors of the electronic money institution, including in the event of enforcement proceedings or insolvency proceedings instituted against the institution;
2° The funds collected as consideration for the issue of electronic money are covered, within the time limits mentioned in 1° of this article, by an insurance contract or other comparable guarantee from an insurance company, finance company or credit institution not belonging to the same group, within the meaning of Article L. 233-3 of the Commercial Code, in accordance with the terms and conditions defined by order of the Minister responsible for the economy, which insure or guarantee the holders of electronic money against default by the electronic money institution in the performance of its financial obligations.
This article applies to funds collected by the persons mentioned in Article L. 525-8, with the time periods mentioned in 1° of this article starting to run from the time of collection by the said persons.
This article applies to the persons mentioned in Article L. 525-8 or to electronic money institutions as soon as the holder has remitted the funds to one of them with a view to creating electronic money.
The funds collected are protected for as long as the electronic money issued is in circulation.