Update: Baker Mckenzie with R3 has published the report referenced below, today, 31 July 2017. For your copy please click here where you can view an executive summary and download a PDF:View report websiteBaker McKenzie in collaboration with R3 has developed and is excited to be nearing the launch of a new white paper, entitled “Blockchains and Laws. Are they compatible”. The report will discuss the compliance challenges posed by privacy and data protection laws worldwide…
The UAE continues to embrace technology innovation in line with its government’s ‘Smart Dubai’ initiative to transform Dubai into the world’s smartest city. With Emirates NBD having recently launched the UAE’s first ‘digital only’ bank, digital payment systems have become a key area of focus.A new e-Payment RegulationOn 1 January 2017, the UAE Central Bank issued the Regulatory Framework For Stored Values and Electronic Payment Systems (“e-Payment Regulation”). The main objectives are facilitating the adoption…
Japan’s Financial Services Agency recently announced plans to cooperate respectively with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore for the purpose of promoting fintech innovation. The collaboration is intended to reduce regulatory uncertainty and time to market, remove barriers to entry in the respective jurisdictions and otherwise further encourage innovation. Press releases issued by the regulators detailing the frameworks can be found here: Japan & UK cooperation and Japan & Singapore…
Technology and innovation is shaping the future and transforming the world. In this new era, Singapore has a bold ambition of becoming the world’s first Smart Nation. The initiatives and traction seen in the financial and insurance technology space undoubtedly echoes this ambition.As Singapore strives towards becoming a Smart Financial Centre and a world-class FinTech hub, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) announced a series of initiatives aimed at fostering the FinTech/InsurTech sector and building…
Bank Indonesia just launched a FinTech Office on 14 November 2016. The office is expected to boost the growth of the Indonesian FinTech industry, optimize technology developments in the sector, improve the industry’s competitiveness and provide feedback from business players.Bank Indonesia also issued the FinTech Regulation, i.e., Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 18/40/PBI/2016 on Implementation of Payment Transactions Processing (“Regulation No. 18”). Regulation No. 18 introduces new FinTech services to Indonesia’s payment-system industry, which previously consisted…
On 18 October 2016, the Central Bank of Malaysia (“BNM”) issued the Financial Technology Regulatory Sandbox Framework (“Framework”), which sets out the requirements for participating in the regulatory sandbox (“Sandbox”). The Sandbox allows regulatory flexibilities to be granted to financial institutions and FinTech companies (“Applicants”) to experiment with FinTech solutions in a live controlled environment which is accompanied by the appropriate safeguards, for a limited period.The concept of a regulatory sandbox framework is not new…
The concept of AI is generally attributed to computer scientist John McCarthy, back in the ’50ies. It is extremely broad and complex, yet it may be summarised (at the risk of oversimplification) as machine intelligence designed to perform a defined set of actions and to learn from experience. AI is nowadays part of our lives, often without us noticing. According to Ray Kurzweil’s fascinating theory “The Singularity is Near”, the time when advanced AI will really…
The history of trade financing is twinned with the history of fraud and forgery in commerce. In 2014 for example, Standard Chartered Plc reportedly wrote down US $193 million after a Chinese-based metal-trading company allegedly pledged commodities multiple times as collateral for loans. Blockchain technology is vaunted as the new hope to weed out fraud in trade financing. What is blockchain?Simply put, a blockchain acts as a record ledger shared and accessible by various participants. Instead…
Technology is evolving and extending its reach increasingly into the financial sector, businesses are being disrupted by its changes. One example are savvy entrepreneurs looking to provide online platforms to match lenders and borrowers The Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”), the regulator that oversees the securities and capital markets industry, took note of the flourishing peer-to-peer lending model. In April 2016, it revised the Recognized Markets Guidelines (“Guidelines”) by adding a specific regulatory regime that appears…
In his 1982 film, Blade Runner, Sir Ridley Scott portrayed 2019 as a world dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) and technology, eliminating a number of roles performed by humans. This article in no way prophesises Ridley-Scott’s dark neo-noir picture, but warns readers to not underestimate the development of “FinTech”. Technological developments will provide automated personalised financial advice, more efficient clearing and settlement processes and easier payment methods for consumers. Financial institutions should view these developments…