FinTech Industry & Regulation – Page 21 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Switzerland and Israel sign cooperation agreement

Sep 13 2017

Swiss and Israeli financial regulators entered into a FinTech cooperation agreement on 4 September. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the Israeli Capital Markets Insurance and Savings Authority (CMISA) and the Israel Securities Authority (“ISA”) intend to cooperate with the aim of encouraging and enabling innovation in their respective financial services industries and of supporting financial innovators in complying with the regulations in each other’s jurisdictions.

The agreement sets out existing activities in the FinTech regulatory space by each regulator. The new cooperation will include information sharing (including on regulatory issues), support to financial innovators from the other’s country (including help to understand the relevant regulatory environment), dialogue on new innovations and knowledge and expertise sharing.

World Economic Forum publishes report on FinTech

Sep 08 2017

By Giovanni Campi and Ignasi Guardans

On 22 August, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published the report “Beyond FinTech: A Pragmatic Assessment of Disruptive Potential in Financial Services”. The report, prepared in collaboration with Deloitte, maps out the impact of FinTech firms on different sectors and presents contrasting outlooks for the future of the industry.

One its key takeaways is that FinTech companies have changed how financial services are structured, but have so far failed to establish themselves as dominant players in the market. However, they have created the basis for potential disruption in the future. The success of financial institutions is thus increasingly more dependent on their ability to promptly adapt their business models and develop partnerships.

Bahrain announces first entrants into its FinTech regulatory sandbox

Sep 07 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced the first two entrants into its FinTech regulatory sandbox: Tramonex, a London-based foreign exchange cash management solution for businesses; and NOW Money, a Dubai-based account and remittance service for low-income workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The CBB launched its Regulatory Sandbox Framework in June and updated the framework rules at the end of August. The sandbox application process is open to both existing CBB licensees (financial institutions with FinTech initiatives) and other companies (local and foreign). The latter may include financial sector companies as well as technology and telecom companies intending to test an innovative product or service, professional service firms which partner with or service financial institutions, or any other type of applicant working within the financial services.

Dubai and Hong Kong sign cooperation agreement

Aug 30 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

On 28 August, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong entered into a co-operation agreement to establish a framework for mutual assistance to keep abreast of the development and application of FinTech in their jurisdictions. Under the agreement, the SFC and the DFSA will cooperate on information sharing, potential innovation projects and referrals of innovative firms seeking to enter one another’s markets.

The agreement follows the launch of:

the SFC’s FinTech Contact Point in March 2016 to enhance communication with businesses involved in the development and application of FinTech and RegTech in Hong Kong. Its purposes is to facilitate the FinTech and RegTech community’s understanding of the current regulatory regime in Hong Kong and to enable the SFC to stay up to date with industry developments; and
the DFSA’s regulatory FinTech regime (see some of our earlier posts on FinTech in Dubai – crowdfunding, accelerator and innovation testing licences)

Better late than never to the FinTech party

Aug 17 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn

Oracle has finally realised that it wants to hang out with the cool FinTech kids on the block, having recently announced the release of its Oracle Banking Payments application programming interface (API) service.

Oracle’s move recognises the value of offering better ways for its banking clients to collaborate with FinTechs and other third parties.

RegTech and AML: New UK Report

Aug 14 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a report on 2 August entitled “’New Technologies and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance”. The report details findings of three months of research by the authors PA Consulting. The work included over 40 interviews with regulated firms, technology providers, and other bodies. The report sets out respondents’ views on topics such as:

What are the key functions of new and emerging technologies related to anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, and how can they aid compliance activities?
What challenges do firms face in introducing new technologies?
What good practice examples and lessons are available for firms considering new compliance technologies?
What steps could the FCA take to encourage more innovation in AML compliance?

All in this together: New FinTech partnership in Abu Dhabi

Aug 11 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

On 7 August, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre (IFC) in Abu Dhabi, and the Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation (RFI), a think tank for responsible finance, announced their entry into a partnership to help the growth and sustainability of the FinTech ecosystem through financial inclusion and ethical and responsible finance practices.

Both parties said that they would like to encourage entrepreneurship, foster ethical and responsible investments, and highlight opportunities for Islamic-compliant FinTech services and Islamic finance activities for the region and beyond. They will highlight emerging FinTech trends and support the development of innovative Shari’ah-compliant FinTech companies seeking to participate in the Middle East and African markets. The collaboration establishes an open platform for both RFI and ADGM to share expertise and knowledge and they say they will also work closely to enable and assist investors, FinTech entrepreneurs and innovation firms in testing and introducing innovative products, services and solutions. This will take place in the environment of the ADGM Reglab programme, a regulatory laboratory to accelerate FinTech Innovation.

European Banking Authority publishes FinTech discussion paper

Aug 10 2017

By Rizwan Qayyum

On 4 August 2017, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a discussion paper on its approach to FinTech. To enable a better understanding and insight into the financial services offered and financial innovations being applied by FinTech firms within the European Union, the EBA undertook a FinTech mapping exercise. The EBA received responses from 22 Member States and two European Economic Area (EEA) states, and the discussion paper outlines the results of its EU-wide mapping exercise, the main financial services provided, regulatory status and proposals on future work on FinTech.

Bitcoin thieves abound, but Law Enforcement is getting smart and stepping up

Aug 06 2017

By Clifford Histed and Nicole Mueller

According to a federal criminal complaint filed last month in Philadelphia, Theodore Price admitted that he had written software capable of stealing millions of dollars in bitcoins from individual bitcoin wallets. He allegedly admitted to purchasing the software on a dark net market and recoding it to infiltrate e-mail accounts with bitcoin wallets. Price also allegedly admitted that he had a fake passport in the name of the actor Jeremy Renner, and that Price had prepared to flee the U.S. on a private jet to evade arrest. Price is now in federal custody, charged with access device fraud and identity theft.

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales gives thoughts on development of law for digital businesses

Aug 02 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

In a recent speech, the most senior judge in England and Wales has spoken about the need to keep English law up to date so that it remains the law of choice for digital ways of doing business. The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, said that some issues could be left to the judges to develop law in the traditional manner, but that this may not be possible for everything that the digital economy can produce. Amongst his thoughts:

Category:FinTech Industry & Regulation