On November 7, China passed data control laws that had been put on the table in August; the laws include government security checks on companies in finance, telecommunications and other critical data industries as well as mandatory in-country data storage; also, individuals will have to register with their real names on messaging services; businesses are concerned that information flow will be curtailed in industries where this is critical to be effective and corporate security checks have the potential to be invasive rather than simply regulatory; the law will go into effect next summer; some aspects of the law will need clarification over time from the government. Source
As scrutiny of Buy Now Pay Later increases, so too do satisfaction scores among customers using the short-term financing mechanism structured like an installment loan.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a rapid wave of sanctions, bringing challenges for financial services firms looking to stay compliant.
Gensler said his biggest worry about the equity market was competition and consolidation. While retail investing has taken off, the PFOF that enables it is ripe for conflict of interest.
It was the 19th century German leader Otto von Bismarck who said, “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to...
Chancellor Hammond and the newly established fintech delivery panel will meet in February to discuss the fintech industry; the group's purpose is to drive fintech specific policy recommendations for the UK; 24 industry experts will attend the February meeting including representatives from Funding Circle, Seedrs and MarketInvoice; on April 12 the UK government will also hold the International FinTech Conference in London to connect domestic and international investors with the UK's fintech market. Source
Collectibles — call centers—rumored legislation... There have been many developments in Reg A and Reg crowdfunding, yet the same old challenges persist.
Korea's Financial Services Commission just issued a guideline that limits most individual investors from committing more than 10 million won ($8,750) to P2P investments in a year; those individuals who have earnings over 100 million won ($87,500) can still commit up to 40 million won to P2P; Korean P2P platforms are complaining that investments in any equity project or loan portfolio tend to be skewed to a few individuals who invest more than 10 million won (60% of investors fall into this category on average across platforms there), therefore the new regulation will drive up funding costs; regulators say this over-concentration of funds from few investors is precisely the trend they hope to curtail. Source
The Federal Council of Switzerland is seeking to make the regulatory framework more flexible for fintech companies; they have instructed the Federal Department of Finance to devise a policy statement setting such a direction; recommendations to be considered include: (a) setting a maximum of 60 days for holding money in a settlement account, which will make settlements better aligned with crowdfunding project funding deadlines, (b) creating of an innovation sandbox in which a platform can accept funds up to CHF 1 million, and (c) establishing a new fintech license, with fewer restrictions than on traditional banks. Source