FinTech Industry & Regulation – Page 17 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Increasing FinTech regulatory ties between Australia and the UK

Mar 27 2018

Australia and the UK have strengthened their joint support of the FinTech industry by entering into two new arrangements which build on the original FinTech cooperation agreement entered into by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in March 2016.

The Australian and UK Governments have entered into the UK-Australia FinTech Bridge which establishes a framework for individual arrangements involving governments, regulators, trade and investment, and business. A number of understandings were agreed to including:

investigating options for developing complementarity between the UK and Australian open banking regimes;
continuing to develop a set of international standards for blockchain applications; and
exploring opportunities to enable quicker processing of licences for firms already licensed in the other jurisdiction.

UK FCA Lead on Global Sandbox

Mar 20 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

In a speech to Innovate Finance 2018 on 19 March, Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) talked about the demand from FinTech firms to operate internationally and the FCA working with partners from around the world to consider options for a global sandbox. He said that the potential of such a project is huge – from solving global problems like money laundering to reducing the regulatory burden of compliance. Currently there is no joint sandbox programme with other regulators for firms to participate in. Such a project represents new territory.

U.S. Treasury Official Previews Report on FinTech Regulation

Mar 09 2018

By Eric A. Love

According to press reports, Craig Phillips, Counselor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), recently delivered remarks at a conference held by the Institute of International Bankers in which he previewed the upcoming Treasury report about possible reforms to the laws and regulations that apply to non-bank financial institutions and FinTech companies. It will be the fourth and final report that Treasury is required by Executive Order 13772 to release about ways to reform the U.S. financial system, consistent with the Trump Administration’s principles of regulation.

Australian Open Banking Developments

Feb 09 2018

By Jim Bulling and Edwin Tan

The Australian Government has today released a report into Open Banking in Australia that sets out recommendations in relation to the method of implementation and proposed timelines. Some key points are:

the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) should be primarily responsible for overseeing standards-setting and accreditation, assisted by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for privacy issues;
the obligation to share data should apply to all Australian Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) as well as reciprocally for other participating entities;
all ADIs should be automatically accredited to receive data. A risk-based accreditation standard should be used for non-ADIs (this would include most FinTech startups, for example);
the use of Application Programming Interfaces to facilitate data sharing; and
mandatory implementation of “read-only” access should be approximately 12 months from a final Government decision to implement Open Banking for the big 4 banks, with a further 12 months transitory period for other banks.

Plastic – that is so yesterday

Feb 07 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Samantha Tyrrell

Many readers won’t be surprised by a new report out of the US that mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment services are now more popular than ever. However, it may be surprising to readers that the flipside of this increase is that our use of plastic money is on the decline, with a future free of debit cards potentially on the horizon.

Cryptocurrency 2018: When the Law Catches Up with Game-Changing Technology

Feb 02 2018

By David E. Fialkow, Edward J. Mikolinksi and Jack S. BrodskyBlockchain technology and the virtual currency, or cryptocurrency, that uses this technology are revolutionizing the way businesses function and deliver goods and services. Even as cryptocurrency becomes a widely debated topic, gaining the critical attention of regulators and policymakers, individuals and businesses are investing billions of dollars in cryptocurrency annually. To understand how blockchain and cryptocurrency may impact you, your business, and your industry, it is important to understand what cryptocurrency is and how the underlying blockchain works. This article provides a brief introduction to these concepts as well as a primer on cryptocurrency legal issues. To read the full article, click here.

Starbucks – a trust legitimiser for blockchain?

Feb 01 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Samantha Tyrrell

In a recent quarterly investor call, Starbucks’ Chairman Howard Schultz discussed the possibility of incorporating blockchain technology into Starbucks’ impressive digital repertoire.

Starbucks’ commitment to being a first mover when it comes to disruptive technology has already resulted in the hugely successful implementation of its mobile payment app, launched in 2015. The app allows users to order, pay and accrue rewards remotely and now accounts for nearly one third of Starbucks’ US transactions. According to Schultz, these figures may warrant a move towards integrating some entirely cashless stores throughout the US.

UK Islamic FinTech Panel Launched

Jan 25 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

An independent group of Islamic Finance and FinTech practitioners came together on 24 January for the inaugural meeting of the UK Islamic FinTech Panel. The panel aims to create momentum in the Islamic FinTech sector by building on London’s position as a global FinTech hub and as a recognised centre for Islamic Finance.

The panel will be chaired by Harris Irfan, MD of Cordoba Capital, an Islamic Finance and Islamic FinTech advisory boutique. Irfan was previously CEO of Deutsche Bank’s Islamic Finance subsidiary, Global Head of Islamic Finance at Barclays and Head of Investment Banking at Rasmala Group. A recent white paper on the Islamic Finance sector, published by Cordoba Capital and IslamicBanker, promoted the idea of an Islamic FinTech panel as a means to build a community to work alongside existing public sector infrastructure in order to provide support to sharia-compliant FinTech companies. If you would like a copy of the white paper, please contact Jonathan Lawrence.

Qatar and Islamic FinTech

Jan 17 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

In the Qatar Islamic Finance Report “Expanding Horizons”, Islamic FinTech regulation and support are considered. The report is a joint venture of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), Thomson Reuters and the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI). The report notes that the FinTech industry in Qatar remains very small. As a part of its efforts to support the Qatar National Vision 2030, the QFC held a Fintech event in January 2017. The report concludes that Islamic FinTech could be supported in three ways:

Top 5 regulatory changes to watch for in 2018

Jan 10 2018

By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser

As one year has drawn to a close it is time to look forward to 2018 and our tips for the most important 5 regulatory changes for the FinTech industry in Australia.

Increased access to bank data.

The Government has announced its intention to introduce an open banking regime in Australia under which customers will have the ability to give third parties such as FinTechs access to the customer’s banking data. Treasury is currently conducting a review into open banking models, with the report which was due at the end 2017 yet to be released.

Also planned to come in to effect by 1 July 2018 is mandatory comprehensive credit reporting which will give lenders access to deeper and richer sets of data on consumers to base their credit decisions on. Comprehensive credit reporting is currently voluntary.

Category:FinTech Industry & Regulation