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Subscriptions and bills are inappropriate and inefficient means of charging for interactive services. We need to move to a software‐on‐demand, payment‐on‐demand model if online services are to expand into the mass market.

This is the second part of a two‐part paper on the future of electronic payments. Part 1, which was published in the last issue of this journal, examined the various electronic forms of payment that are likely to emerge in the future, and considered some of the main technological and economic factors that will shape this evolution. This second part focuses on major regulatory and institutional issues that will influence the wider acceptance of electronic payment.

The purpose of the article is to look closely at the phenomenon of the cryptocurrencies such as and bitcoin to identify their potential vulnerabilities to money laundering and financing of terrorism. It also explores their specific characteristics relevant to ML/FT risks.

Using digicash and bitcoin protocols as primary cases for centralized and decentralized cryptocurrencies we analyse their characteristics against cash and cashless payments. We also draw on “bundle of attributes” that may define their attractiveness for common public or criminals.

Our research shows that characteristics of the cryptocurrencies are unlikely to make them popular among the consumers, as demand for anonymity seems to be overrated. Cryptocurrencies can also be classified as payment instrument rather than private currencies; therefore their embededdness in the financial system minimizes the ML/FT risks.

Some decentralized cryptocurrencies operate within informal communities. Therefore, relations within these communities are constantly evolving and need to be monitored further.

The paper provides an insight into the mechanics and classification of cryptocurrencies as payment instruments. Place of cryptocurrencies within the broader payment ecosystem defines their potential vulnerabilities to being abused by the criminals.

The paper fills the gap in research on cryptocurrencies as payment instruments rather than private currencies and also provides an overview of their relevance for the Anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

I am proud to be known as an expert by experience in recovery from mental distress, but I am also a co‐founder and director of a multi‐award winning, peer‐led charity called Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health. In the 1980s, after experiencing my third breakdown, I was an extremely angry person because of the lack of cross‐sector service provision to assist me in becoming whole again. Thankfully I used my rage to develop, along with my co‐founder Dave Wheat, our Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health services to meet the needs of those in mental distress. Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health provides person‐focused, recovery‐rooted services that aim to promote recovery, enabling people to become contributing members of society again. This is the history of Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health, our achievements and the challenges that we have faced in developing the services that we provide today.