Found out that you can’t play in the sandbox?
By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) regulatory sandbox is up and running exempting qualifying businesses from holding an Australian financial services licence or Australian credit licence. There are a number of reasons why a business may not be eligible including:
- the business will issue the financial products;
- it is likely that there will be more than 100 retail clients
- it is likely that the value of the financial products will be more than $5 million;
- 12 months testing will not be sufficient; or
- the financial products the business deals with fall outside the eligible products for the sandbox which are:
- simple managed investment schemes;
- non-cash payment systems issued by a bank;
- listed securities;
- government bonds; and
- unsecured loans.
So what are your options if you don’t meet all the eligibility criteria but don’t want to obtain your own licence?