The innovation hub is set to enable companies to engage directly with the Central Bank on innovation and fintech.
A new Central Bank unit will focus on engagement, sharing and listening, and will be a two-way street. The regulator will have a direct contact point for new fintech companies and existing companies that are becoming more innovative.
In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been marking progress in its regulatory sandbox initiative. The regulator received 61 applications for cohort 3 of the regulatory sandbox, with 18 firms accepted to develop towards testing.
The FCA continues to see successful sandbox applications from a diverse range of sectors, locations and firm size. Accepted propositions cover a range of areas including blockchain based payment services, RegTech propositions, general insurance, AML controls, biometric digital ID and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verification.
Fintech divisions of regulators are facing an increased volume of enquiries about blockchain and cryptoassets. Various blockchain applications were the topics of the majority of enquiries received by the Fintech Desk of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in 2017.
The Annual Report for 2017 published by the Swiss regulator shows that FINMA’s FinTech Desk handled 453 enquiries in 2017, a pronounced increase from the 270 enquiries received in 2016. Most queries in 2017 were about blockchain, cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings (ICOs) – topics which are also central to FINMA’s supervisory work. The digital asset enquiries accounted for 60% of the total in 2017.
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