In a call for input, the FCA has just affirmed that innovative technology has a key role to play in enabling financial services to meet regulatory requirements and invited businesses to have their say in how it should “refine and develop” its future approach in this area. There isn’t yet a closing date for input, but the FCA is planning to hold workshops in Spring 2016.
Talking Points
The call identifies four areas in which the FCA thinks it might be able to support regulatory technology:
- Providing regulatory expertise
- Improving collaboration in the FinTech and RegTech environment
- Developing standards and guidance
- Addressing barriers to entry, innovation and adoption
What’s Hot?
This announcement comes over a year into Project Innovate (which promotes the use of new technology and business models in the financial services sector). Earlier this month, the FCA also declared that it was setting up a new “safe space” with regulatory exemptions, to help companies test “innovative products, services, business models and delivery mechanisms”.
New areas that the FCA is keen to explore further include big data techniques, “real-time and system embedded compliance tools” and software integration tools that “reduce the manual keying of data”. Their enthusiasm is echoed by Guernsey Financial Services Commission, which changed its handbooks on the 25th November, in the hope of giving firms “the confidence to use new technologies” in the client take-on process and updating of due diligence documentation.
It’s all exciting news for europos, given our products are at the cutting edge of this kind of progress.
Leveraging National Strengths
With half of promising “disruptive” FinTech start-ups located in the UK, the FCA’s commitment to supporting this hub and harnessing it fully in the fight against money laundering makes good sense. If you’d like to submit a response to this call, you can find the online form here.