By Jacob Ghanty
The second EU Payment Services Directive is set to change the banking landscape in Europe. In the linked article, Jacob Ghanty describes some of the changes that PSD2 will bring about. This article was first published in inCOMPLIANCE, member publication of the International Compliance Association www.int-comp.org.
By Jacob Ghanty
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority published its final report on the Financial Advice Market Review on 14 March, which stated that there is a “clear need for intervention by the regulator and the government” to aid the provision of new and more cost-effective ways of delivering financial advice and guidance. The FAMR sets out recommendations to address concerns relating to the affordability and accessibility of financial advice, which includes recommendations to help firms develop automated “robo-advice” models. In the linked article, first published in E-Finance & Payments Law & Policy, Jacob Ghanty expresses his views on robo-advice developments.
By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser
China’s biggest FinTech companies now have a similar number of clients as the country’s top banks, according to a report on digital disruption by Citi. China’s fintech industry has been growing rapidly over the past decade and is dominated by the largest payments and peer 2 peer lending markets in the world. According to Citi, 4 elements have led to the industry’s growth:
By
Many of us have had a similar experience. We receive a gift card, put it in a “safe” place with other gift cards, and forget it exists. Inevitably, we uncover the gift card and find ourselves asking questions such as: Does this card still have any value? Has it expired? Can it expire? Will I be charged a fee for use (or non-use)? Should I call the 800 number? The experience invariably ends by putting the card aside and promising to deal with it later. But, what really does happen to the value of those cards?
To read more, click here.
The emergence of blockchain technology and the size of the FinTech industry were the major points of discussion at a recently concluded CBI Insights and KPMG webinar on the future of FinTech.
Blockchain is a data structure that creates a digital ledger of transactions. Using cryptography, blockchain allows participants to securely manipulate the ledger without any central authority. Once the information is entered, it is almost impossible to erase – creating an accurate record of the transaction’s history.
The technology is still in its infancy and currently undergoing significant experimentation. For established financial institutions such as banks, blockchain is seen as a possible solution to the problem of an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. The technology is also seen as an effective tool in combatting money laundering as it tracks a transaction’s entire digital history.
Venture capital investment in blockchain, which had seen a rapid rise over the last several years, is showing signs of plateauing as the technology matures. However, the boom in FinTech investment is expected to continue unabated as companies emerge from their infancy and the adoption of their technology becomes more widespread. In 2015, investments into FinTech were US$14 billion, with major banks such as J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs as primary investors. In the UK, Funding Circle, Atom Bank and World Remit each received in excess of US$100 million in funding in 2015. There are now 19 FinTech companies with a market capitalisation in excess of US$1 billion.
By Sean Mahoney
The Federal Reserve announced that it engaged McKinsey & Company to help evaluate faster payments solution proposals being solicited by the Federal Reserve from members of its Faster Payments Task Force. The Task Force consists of representatives of participants in the financial services system, including banks and technology firms. This step can be viewed as part of a process of making improvements to the US payments system. It is worth monitoring as any such improvements will likely lead to commercial opportunities.
See the press release here.
On March 24, the French National Assembly hosted a day-long conference on “Blockchain: Disruption and Opportunities.”
This event aimed at raising awareness of the French elected representatives and corporate executives on blockchain issues and potential uses for the digital transformation of society as a whole.
The closing statement provided by Emmanuel Macron, the French Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Economy, was subsequently echoed by his announcement on March 29 of the upcoming adaptation of the French finance regulatory framework in order to progressively allow the introduction of the technology.
By Sean Mahoney
Bank regulators are paying more attention to the role of banks in the prepaid card industry as evidenced by their new guidance on the applicability of know your customer requirements and proposed regulations on record-keeping with respect to master deposit accounts for prepaid cards and other products utilizing “pass-through” deposit insurance.
To learn more about the Interagency Guidance to Issuing Banks on Applying Customer Identification Program Requirements to Holders of Prepaid Cards, which provides a framework to determine whether or not a bank must apply its customer information program to holders of prepaid products for which the bank is the issuer, please visit our Consumer Financial Services Watch Blog at Prepaid Access Garners Regulatory Attention.
By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser
The Australian Government has released its responses to the industry’s priorities for fintech development which it has called “Backing Australian FinTech”. As well as affirming existing commitments, such as introducing a crowd sourced equity funding (CSEF) framework and an incubator support programme, the paper includes a number of initiatives that the Government proposes to undertake. New developments include:
Backing Australian FinTech indicates that 2016 will be a busy year for fintech regulation in Australia.
Read Backing Australian FinTech here.
By Ayuko Nemoto and Yuki Sako
To date, virtual currencies and related service providers remain unregulated in Japan. However, on March 4, 2016, the Cabinet of Japan approved an amendment bill to the Payment Services Act of Japan and submitted it to the Diet (“Amendment Bill”).
Most importantly, the Amendment Bill aims to bring the industry under the supervision of the Financial Services Agency of Japan (“FSA”) and introduce new registration requirements for virtual currencies exchanges, including those based outside of Japan that provide services to customers in Japan. Exchanges based outside of Japan may be registered as a “Foreign Exchange” if they are registered or licensed in their home jurisdiction; however, they must have an office in Japan and designate a “representative of Japan,” the failure of which would result in disqualification.
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