EU regulators seek to shape the future of FinTech

A new action plan from the European Commission (EC) is aiming to support the growth of technology-enabled financial services. The action plan, due to be launched in spring 2018, will build on various initiatives begun in France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and other countries and could open the door to European-wide licenses for FinTech companies, easier crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending and temporary regulatory relaxations for testing new tech-based financial services.

There are some concerns that the early involvement of European Union (EU) regulations could prevent individual member states from addressing this at a national level and inhibit a fast-moving sector’s development. Senior policy advisor and international relations expert Sergey Filippov noted that there is a need for national authorities and regulators to be able to design and implement national FinTech-friendly policies, albeit within the framework of fully-formed guiding principles at the EU level. There are also concerns from established banks that this will make it easier for their non-bank rivals to undermine their business. To a large extent, this is true as FinTech innovations will undoubtedly make the banking sector more competitive.

Source: www.ibanet.org