UK – Page 6 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

FCA discussion paper on distributed ledger technology

Apr 13 2017

The FCA has published a discussion paper (DP) on the potential uses of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in financial services. The purpose of the DP is to start a dialogue on the risks and opportunities in relation to DLT. The FCA has gained exposure to DLT through its Regulatory Sandbox initiative.

The FCA describes DLT as “a set of technological solutions that enables a single, sequenced, standardised and cryptographically-secured record of activity to be safely distributed to, and acted upon by, a network of varied participants.” It states that industry efforts to investigate DLT have become especially concentrated over the past 24 months and, in the second half of 2017 into 2018, it expects to see firms moving on from “Proof of Concept” to “real-world” deployment of this kind of technology.

UK Regulatory Innovation Plan

Apr 10 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The UK Treasury has recently published its Regulatory Innovation Plan in relation to FinTech. The plan overviews the current work and future projects of the four UK financial services regulators: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the wider Bank of England (BoE). It examines how the regulators are adapting to and encouraging disruptive business models and also utilising new technologies to reduce regulatory burdens on business. Highlights include:

Bank of England’s FinTech Accelerator launches a new community

Mar 28 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The Bank of England’s FinTech Accelerator launched a new community on 17 March 2017 which brings together FinTech-related organisations. The community has three aims: to share developments, trends and insights; to make sure the Bank is engaging with different FinTech firms from across the sector; and to enable firms with an interest in FinTech to network, supporting the development of the sector. Community members will be invited to meet the Bank two to four times a year to share updates on trends and developments in the sector. The Bank will also hold quarterly networking and knowledge-sharing events, and publish summaries of the topics discussed. The list of initial community members is here. Summaries of the topics discussed at these events will be made available afterwards via the Accelerator’s website.

The Bank has also decided on the firms it will be working with for the third round of its Proofs of Concept (PoCs):

MindBridge AI: MindBridge’s AI (artificial intelligence) auditor detects anomalies in financial transactions and reports using data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The Bank is using this PoC to explore the benefits of machine learning for analysing the quality of regulatory data input.
Ripple: The Bank is carrying out a PoC with Ripple to demonstrate the synchronised movement of two different currencies across two different real-time gross settlement systems. The aim is to show how this kind of synchronisation might lower settlement risk and improve the speed and efficiency of cross-border payments.

UK Government’s digital strategy

Mar 20 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The UK Government’s Digital Strategy published on 1 March 2017 contains an overview of actions the Government and regulators are taking to support the UK FinTech industry:

supporting UK banks to deliver Open Banking through a fully open application programming interface (API), providing access to authorised third parties by Q1 2018. Third-parties will then be able to access consumers’ data in real-time
supporting industry to design and deliver a pensions dashboard by 2019 – a digital interface where an individual can view all their pensions in one place
working with Tech City UK on a FinTech Delivery Panel to set out a long-term strategy for UK FinTech and identify key industry initiatives. This panel comprises key representatives from the FinTech sector, existing financial services sector, and the Financial Inclusion Commission
appointing regional FinTech envoys to help the growth of FinTech across the UK. To date, regional FinTech envoys have been appointed for the North of England and Scotland
showcasing UK FinTech to investors at the annual International FinTech Conference, to take place in London on 12 April 2017

Regulators in the UK and Japan enter into Co-operation Framework

Mar 20 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have entered into a Co-operation Framework to support innovative FinTech companies in their respective markets. For the full text of the agreement by way of an exchange of letters, see Letter from the JFSA to the FCA and Letter from the FCA to the JFSA.

This Co-operation Framework will provide a regulatory referral system for innovative financial businesses that have been offered support by the JFSA or the FCA through their respective FinTech innovation functions, or would qualify for such support (an Innovator Business). The FCA launched Project Innovate in October 2014 which is led by the FCA’s Innovation Hub. The JFSA established its FinTech Support Desk in December 2015 as a one-stop contact point for FinTech businesses.

The impact of Brexit on FinTech

Feb 23 2017

Jacob Ghanty contributed an article to AmericanLawyer.com on the impact of Brexit on FinTech. The article discusses the impact the Brexit referendum is having on FinTech in the UK, including the unresolved issues if financial services businesses lose the ability to “passport” across the EU in light of the vote.

To read the article, click here

UK Government to host International FinTech Conference

Feb 20 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The UK Government will host an international FinTech conference in London on 12 April 2017 to attract more investment into the FinTech sector. The International FinTech Conference aims to bring together domestic and international investors and UK FinTech firms. The Conference will feature speeches by senior Government ministers and figures from FinTech, Venture Capital and Financial Services organisations. The conference will include fireside chats, panels and workshops for investors hosted by the UK Government, the Financial Conduct Authority and the British Business Bank. UK FinTech firms will have an opportunity to showcase themselves in an exhibition space and during a pitch session. Firms and potential investors, including Sovereign Wealth funds, family offices and high net-worth individuals should register their interest in attending the conference. It is expected to become an annual event.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby, said: “Backing Britain’s world leading financial services industry is a key part of our plan to ensure the UK remains a great place to do business. The government is determined that London stays at the cutting edge of financial innovation and that’s why we will host a new, annual FinTech conference to boost capital investment in one of our fastest growing sectors. This will bring together hundreds of British FinTech firms and investors from around the world and cement our position as the global FinTech capital.”.

UK conduct rules in the FinTech era

Feb 15 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The Chairman of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), John Griffiths-Jones, has delivered a speech in which he talked about conduct rules in the FinTech era. At the Cambridge Judge Business School on 13 February 2017, he talked about current regulatory models being too detailed to keep pace with the emergence of new financial technologies, leaving regulators struggling to cope with the way financial services are delivered.

He said “Rules that were designed for the paperwork era do not work necessarily for the online one. The distinction between advice and guidance, once reasonably clear, has become much greyer with the advent of platforms and the potential of robo-advice. High frequency trading is a million miles from open outcry trading on an exchange. Artificial Intelligence puts the pooling of risk via insurance under pressure as individual odds become increasingly forecastable. An additional challenge comes from the differential pace of take up of new ways of doing things by the general public…”.

Bank of England Governor delivers wide-ranging FinTech speech

Jan 26 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, has given a wide-ranging speech on FinTech which he delivered at the Deutsche Bundesbank G20 conference on 25 January 2017. It was entitled “The Promise of FinTech – Something New Under the Sun?”. Whilst recognising that FinTech’s true promise springs from its potential to unbundle banking into its core function, systemic risks will evolve. The challenge for policymakers is to ensure that FinTech develops in a way that maximises the opportunities and minimises the risks for society. Read More

Accenture runs its largest ever fintech accelerator programme in shadow of Brexit

Jan 20 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace

After fielding more than 300 applicants around the globe, Accenture has selected 20 start-ups to participate in its largest ever fintech accelerator programme.

Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and gamification technology are all key features in this year’s 12-week programme running in London.

By the end of the programme, 8 start-ups will be selected to present at the programme’s Graduation Day to a group of venture capitalists and financial industry executives. All of the start-ups will receive mentorship from representatives of 28 financial institutions.

Accenture’s Tom Graham told Finextra “the transformation requirements that the financial services industry must undertake to remain relevant arguably pose a bigger challenge than the immediate geo-political uncertainty casting a shadow over the industry”.

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