Imagine walking into an airport without the need to use your passport. Mad right? But in reality, this is already happening. AI and the provision of strategic relationships by investors in the fintech sector are making...
Category - Fintech & Innovation
Caroline StevensonTreasury publishes digital economy responses
Treasury had published a summary of the responses it received to its consultation on cash and digital payments in the new economy, which closed last year. It received 218 responses. Key themes are: the government...
Roseyna JahangirBoE speaks on embracing Fintech
Dave Ramsden has spoken at the Innovate Finance Global Summit, stressing the importance of fintech, and of BoE’s ability to keep on top of developments. He spoke of the anniversary of the BoE Fintech Hub and...
Emma RadmoreFCA heralds Innovate success
Christopher Woolard has spoken on FCA’s continuing work to promote innovation. As part of its drive, it has published an evaluation of its Innovate services, which have now supported nearly 700 firms. FCA...
FSB updates on market issues
FSB, in its latest plenary meeting, discussed: current vulnerabilities in the global financial system; developing a surveillance network for potential vulnerabilities; areas where supervisory policies and practices...
FCA publishes research agenda
One of the documents that accompanied FCA’s Business Plan is its Research Agenda. This sets out its intentions in respect of the themes that underpin the Business Plan. The document explains how FCA welcomes...
FCA prioritises culture, customers and crime prevention
FCA’s Business Plan for 2019/2020 holds few surprises. It highlights 4 ongoing cross-sector priorities and three additional longer-term priorities. FCA will focus on: culture and governance, not least in SMCR...
Wholesale brokers ignore Dear CEO letter at their peril
FCA has written a Dear CEO letter to wholesale brokers setting out its thoughts on the key harms the sector poses. The letter explains that MiFID 2 and MAR have significantly raised expectations on market participants...
EU launches new fintech platform forum
The European Commission and ESAs have announced the launch of the European Forum for Innovation Facilitators (EFIF). There are currently 21 innovation hubs and 5 regulatory sandboxes in the EU, and the regulators want...
FCA publishes final no-deal Brexit rules
Perhaps in anticipation of what would follow later in the day, FCA published its final instruments and guidance that would apply in the event of a no-deal, no-implementation period Brexit, on the morning of 29 March...
EIOPA reviews InsurTech authorisation in the EU
EIOPA has published a report on current authorising and licensing approaches to financial innovation, including InsurTech startups and peer-to-peer insurance. The report identified that while the EU market for InsurTech...
EIOPA to prepare guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers
As part of its response to the European Commission’s FinTech Action Plan, EIOPA has published a report setting out: a summary of the current NSA work on cloud computing, an analysis of the current EU (re)insurance...
FOS letter to Treasury Committee on reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act
On 26th March 2019, the House of Commons Treasury Committee published a letter from Caroline Wayman (FOS Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive) to Nicky Morgan (Committee Chair) setting out the requirements to make...
FCA looks at life beyond Brexit
In a speech on Brexit delivered by Nausicaa Delfas, Executive Director of International, the FCA reminded firms that the deadline for notifications under the temporary permissions regime is 28 March 2019. Firms that...
BIS reports on central bank digital currencies
The BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the Markets Committee have published a joint report central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The report sets out the findings of research conducted by the...
FCA Update on Digital Regulatory Reporting
The FCA has updated its webpage on digital regulatory reporting (DRR) by publishing – a video which explains the concept of DRR and outlines the work carried out by the DRR pilot group; a report which sets out an...
Angie BamboulisBCBS Statement on crypto-assets
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published a statement on crypto-assets. The Committee acknowledges that while the crypto-asset market remains small relative to that of the global financial system, and...
What the Spring Statement brings for regulation
In the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, the Chancellor referred to the need to ensure financial regulation can adapt to a no-deal Brexit and then, longer term, to the UK’s new constitutional position.
EBA Working Group on PSD2 APIs: first set of clarifications published
Following the first meeting of the EBA Working Group on APIs under PSD2, the EBA has published the first set of issues identified and consequent clarifications. The issues relate to the testing environment mandated by...
FCA publishes research on consumer attitudes to cryptoassets
The FCA has published a survey and qualitative research they commissioned to examine UK consumer attitudes to cryptoassets. Although the research revealed a prevailing lack of understanding about cryptoassets, it also...
FCA writes to P2P platforms on wind-down plans
FCA has written a Dear CEO letter to loan-based P2P crowdfunding platforms asking them to review their wind-down arrangements. It has recently carried out a sampling exercise which it says strongly suggests that some...
EU agrees draft directive to enhance consumer protection
The EU has agreed the terms of a draft directive that, if passed, will amend a number of consumer protection directives, including the consumer rights directive (2011/83/EU), to introduce measures such as: harmonised...
BoE and FCA update on Brexit approach
BoE and FCA have updated their respective websites with coordinated information on their approach to a hard Brexit. BoE has published a series of materials setting out its updated plans to its supervisory approach to a...
Court rules that Brexit is not frustrating event for a lease
The High Court has ruled that a European agency cannot terminate the lease of their premises at Canary Wharf on the basis of Brexit being a ‘frustrating event’. Our article provides more detail on this case...
FIN. TeamFSB asks if BigTech will shake up FinTech
FSB has published a report looking at FinTech market developments in the financial system and what that might mean for financial stability. It is generally excited by the possibilities that FinTech offers and says...
ESMA creates Brexit page
ESMA has created a new web-page on Brexit, setting out how it is preparing for it. Its latest agreement is a MoU with BoE for recognition of CCPs and the Central Securities Depository. It aims to recognise all UK CCPs...
Treasury lays Brexit FS SI before Parliament
Treasury has laid before Parliament the Financial Services (Miscellaneous)(Amendment)(EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The wide-ranging instrument amends several pieces of UK and retained EU law relating to financial...
‘Global sandbox’ pilot invites applications
A group of 29 international regulators and bodies, including the FCA, has opened a cross-border pilot sandbox. Applicants that want to test innovative products and services across international markets are invited to...
Treasury Committee launches post-Brexit FS inquiry
The Treasury Committee has started a new inquiry looking at financial services in the UK after Brexit. Its focus is to look at: what the UK’s financial services priorities should be when negotiating the UK’s...
Treasury writes to Treasury Committee on no-deal planning law
The Treasury has written to the Treasury Committee enclosing a draft of secondary legislation that would give temporary transitional powers to the UK financial regulators in the event of a no-deal Brexit that would...
FCA Cryptoassets consultation published
The FCA is consulting on draft guidance on activities that the FCA regulates in this area. Noting that this is an area in which investor activity is on the increase, and where there is still uncertainty about where the...
FCA to look at product governance and research unbundling
A set of oral evidence given to the Treasury Committee includes statements from FCA that: it is now content on how to interpret the mortgage affordability test compliantly with the MCD and now plans to consult on...
New Financial Services head at Womble Bond Dickinson
We are delighted that Jonny Williams has joined the financial services regulatory team at Womble Bond Dickinson UK.
More information on Jonny and his appointment can be found here.
FCA publishes sector views
FCA has published its “Sector Views” setting out its observations from monitoring its 7 selected sectors of: retail banking retail lending general insurance and protection pensions and retirement income...
ESAs advise on crypto approach
ESMA and EBA have published papers on ICOs and crypto-assets. The ESMA paper clarifies which crypto-assets currently qualify as financial instruments and provides its views on gaps and risks. The paper identifies...
FCA consults on Brexit contractual continuity provision
At the end of last year, the the Treasury published draft regulations making provision for contractual certainty for firms currently passporting into the UK in the event of a ‘hard’ Brexit. Following this...
ESAs report on sandboxes
The ESAs have published a joint report on regulatory sandboxes and innovation hubs. The report shows that 24 EEA Member States have developed hubs but only 5 have regulatory sandboxes. As a result of the study the ESAs...
FCA publishes finalised guidance on fairness of variation terms in FS contracts
The FCA has today published finalised guidance (FG18/7) setting out what it believes firms should consider under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 when varying a term in their consumer contracts. The guidance includes a list...
FCA publishes final rules on expansion of FOS jurisdiction to SMEs
The FCA has now published final rules confirming the expansion of the jurisdiction of the FOS to include certain SME customers. The new rules will mean that from 1 April 2019, the FOS will be able to hear complaints...
FOS consults on plans for 2019/20
The FOS has published a consultation on its plans and budget for 2019/2020. It notes that from April 2019, its jurisdiction will be expanded by the addition of two significant areas of work: complaints made by SME...
New Corporate Governance Principles published
The Financial Reporting Council has published the final version of new Corporate Governance Principles for large private companies.
We have published an article that summarises and discusses these Principles.
Suzanne GadoEC Review of the Distance Marketing Directive
The European Commission has launched a review of the Distance Marketing Directive (DMD) to assess whether it is relevant, effective, efficient, and in line with other EU legislation. The review follows an announcement...
EBA publishes further PSD2 guidelines
The EBA has published final Guidelines on the exemption from the fall back mechanism requirement under the RTS on Secure Customer Authentication and Common and Secure Communications (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU)...
Treasury Committee publishes Withdrawal Agreement analyses
The Treasury Committee has published the Bank of England’s analysis of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration. The lengthy document explains how the reduction in openness with reduce the UK...
FCA publishes approach to authorisation and feedback statement
Following a consultation last year, the FCA has published the ‘FCA Mission: Approach to Authorisation’ and feedback statement. This document includes reference to the introduction of a new range of tools to...
DExEU publishes draft political declaration
On 22 November 2018, DExEU published the Draft Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union (“Draft Declaration“). The Draft...
Treasury announces more details on its approach to onshoring financial services legislation
On 22 November 2018, Treasury announced it was developing a draft SI for MAR. It proposes that the SI will address: the scope of the regulation; transaction reporting; notification requirements; transfer of functions;...
FCA speaks on AI and financial crime
Rob Gruppetta has spoken on FCA’s views on the use of innovation, data and algorithms to help it in its supervision of, and approach to, financial crime prevention. He said that FCA is always open to innovation...
FCA Speech on key issues identified by the Cryptoassets Taskforce
The FCA has published a speech by Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA, delivered at the Regulation of Cryptocurrencies event on 20 November 2018. The speech highlights the key...
FCA consults on fees and levies
FCA is consulting on policy proposals for its proposed regulatory fees and levies for 2019/2020. Among the proposed changes is a plan to streamline the process of setting consumer credit fees by exemption community...
DexEU announces Brexit progress
The Department for Exiting the EU published a press statement alongside the announcement on 14 November that the UK and EU negotiating teams had reached an “in principle” agreement on the Withdrawal...
Call for interest in new payment Standards Advisory Panel
The Bank of England and Pay.UK are inviting expressions of interest from senior stakeholders who could represent the payments industry on a newly created Standards Advisory Panel. The new Panel will focus on the...
Cryptoassets task force publishes report
The Cryptoassets task force, led by Treasury, has published its report on the UK’s policy and regulatory approach to cryptoassets. The report looks at the policy and regulatory implications of DLT and...
Bank of England communications on approach to financial services legislation under EU (Withdrawal) Act
The Bank of England has published a package of documents covering various aspects of contingency measures required in the event of there being no applicable Brexit transition period agreed. The publications include:...
ESMA publishes report on ICOs and Crypto-Assets
ESMA has published an own initiative report on additional steps it can take to contain the risks for investors arising from ICOs and crypto-assets (noting that there are no obvious related stability risks as yet). The...
FCA calls for more sandbox applications
FCA is calling for the next round of applications for the regulatory sandbox. The deadline for applications to join cohort 5 is 30 October 2018.
FCA Feedback Statement on Digital Regulatory Reporting
The FCA has published a feedback statement on digital regulatory reporting. This follows the FCA’s call for input on smarter regulatory reporting in February 2018. The FCA found that most respondents agreed that...
FCA consults on Statements of Responsibilities and Responsibilities Map guidance
The FCA has published a consultation on proposed guidance to help solo-regulated firms draft their Statements of Responsibilities (SoR) and (for enhanced firms) Responsibilities Maps, in preparation for the SMCR...
FCA publishes Brexit consultations following HMT Guidance
As heralded at the end of last year, the FCA has now published two consultation papers that make provision for operations in the event of a ‘hard’ Brexit next March. The first consultation sets out changes...
Treasury plans transitional regulatory tool
Treasury has set out its plans for a temporary transitional tool for the UK regulators to use that will enable them to phase in the requirements for UK firms that will change under the raft of onshoring legislation...
FCA speaks on crises
Charles Randell, speaking at AFME’s conference, highlighted the damage that a cycle of deregulation, crisis and regulation can do. He discussed in particular the risks of deregulation, or the choice not to apply...
FCA consults on PSD2 SCA-RTS approach
As part of its implementation of PSD2, the FCA has published a consultation on matters relating to the Regulatory Technical Standards for strong customer authentication and common and secure open standards of...
Commons calls for crypto-asset regulation
The Treasury Committee has published a report, in which it describes its unanimous support for regulation for the “Wild West” crypto-currency market. The report outlines all the problems and dangers the...
Andrew Bailey and Charles Randell speak at FCA Annual Public Meeting
The FCA has held its annual public meeting, at which it reviews the year past, talks about key priorities for the year ahead and takes questions from the public. Charles Randell, who was chairing his first Annual Public...
ESAs report on financial advice automation
The joint committee of ESAs has published the results of its monitoring exercise on automation in financial advice. The ESAs found that automation is growing but that there are still only a limited number of firms and...
FinTech agreement between Dubai and Singapore develops international regulatory co-operation
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Singapore Monetary Authority (MAS) have announced that they have entered into an agreement to promote the regulation of innovative businesses. The agreement allows...
Law Commission confirms status of electronic signatures
In December 2017 the Law Commission confirmed that one of the projects it would be working on was addressing the absence of explicit case law and legislation that has given rise to uncertainty as to the validity of...
FSB launches peer review of LEIs
The Financial Stability Board has published the Summary Terms of Reference of a thematic peer review of the implementation of the Legal Entity Identifier. The thematic review seeks feedback from a range of stakeholders...
FCA announces GFIN creation
FCA has announced the creation of the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), in collaboration with 11 other regulators and organisations. This builds on FCA’s plans for a global regulatory sandbox and will...
Consultation on use of digital technology in insurance
The International Association of Insurance Supervisors has published a draft issues paper on the increasing use of digital technology in insurance and its potential impact on consumer outcomes. The focus of the paper is...
PSR reports on contactless mobile payments
The Payment Systems Regulator has published a report on contactless mobile payments (CMPs). It sees this as a growth area as people become more comfortable with using it, more contactless pay-points are available and...
FCA updated guidance for firms outsourcing IT
The FCA has updated FG 16/5, ‘Guidance for firms outsourcing to the ‘cloud’ and other third party IT services’. This update takes account of the publication of the European Banking...
Corporate governance reporting and the impact on large private companies
We have written an article on the new corporate governance reporting requirements for certain large private companies. The requirements will come into force on 1 January 2019 applying to financial years beginning on or...
FCA publishes intervention approach documents
On a new page on its website, ‘Measuring our impact before we intervene‘, the FCA has published a group of documents that aim to provide an indication of how the FCA assesses the likely impact of its...
FCA publishes Annual Report
FCA has published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2017/18. The report includes details of: FCA’s work preparing for Brexit; key regulatory changes such as MiFID 2 and PSD 2; work on SMCR extension; thematic...
FSB looks at crypo-asset market monitoring
The Financial Stability Board has reported to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on its work in relation to crypto-asset markets. It has worked with the CPMI to set up a framework for monitoring the...
FCA and PSR Chair discusses potential future algocracy
Charles Randell, the recently appointed Chair of the FCA and the PSR, has delivered a speech, in which he discussed the increasing dominance of algorithms in our day to day lives, and noted some of the consequent issues...
FATF/MENAFATF update in plenary
FATF and the Middle East and North African FATF have held their third plenary meeting. The meeting updated on a wide range of issues, including discussion on several typology reports and discussion of mutual evaluation...
Themes from thematic reviews
We recently wrote an article for Compliance Monitor setting out themes from recent FCA thematic reviews.
Customer authentication under PSD2
We recently wrote an article for Compliance Monitor on strong customer authentication under PSD2 and EBA Guidelines.
PRA writes to CEOs on crypto-risks
Sam Woods has written a “Dear CEO” letter to CEOs of all dual-authorised firms on exposures to crypto-assets. PRA understands firms may already have limited exposure to such assets, and is writing to clarify...
EIOPA opens InsurTech Insight survey
EIOPA is inviting the insurance industry as well as those not directly active in the insurance value chain to provide views on InsurTech, which they define as ‘technology-enabled innovation in insurance that could...
HMT, Bank of England and FCA set out approach to onshoring financial services legislation
The Treasury, the Bank of England and the FCA have published information about how financial services legislation will be on-shored under the EU (Withdrawal) Act, in particular to ensure the (hopefully unlikely)...
BoE responds to the Treasury’s call for evidence on cash and digital payments
The Bank of England (BoE) has published its response to the Treasury’s Call for Evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy. The BoE welcomes Treasury’s Call for Evidence. Key points include:...
FOS Annual Review published
The FOS has published its Annual Review for 2017/2018. Many of the complaints statistics highlight products that are the subject of ongoing regulatory scrutiny and activity: the FOS notes significant increases in...
Treasury Committee’s digital currencies inquiry
The Treasury Committee has updated its webpage with the written evidence it has received to its digital currencies inquiry, which was launched in February 2018. The Committee received written evidence from a number of...
FCA speaks on technology in combating crime
Megan Butler has spoken at the AML TechSprint event. She focused on how data and technology can help to detect and disrupt criminal activity and how financial institutions staff can help in the fight against financial...
HM Treasury: Cryptoassets Taskforce meets for the first time
The first meeting of the UK’s new Cryptoassets Taskforce took place on 21 May 2018. The Taskforce was first announced in April by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as part of the Government’s Fintech Sector Strategy...
Blockchain: Game changer or game over?
Following our successful seminar on 10th May, read our blog updates.
FinTech industry associations publish PSD2 voluntary guidelines
UK Finance, the Financial Data and Technology Association, the Electronic Money Association and techUK have jointly published voluntary guidelines. The guidelines are directed at account servicing payment service...
Treasury responds on cheque imaging
Treasury has published its response to its consultation on cheque imaging. It received 15 responses, and engaged with 4 other institutions. All agreed that a copy of a cheque should be made available to customers on...
FATF discusses FinTech and RegTech
FATF has updated on recent discussions with the FinTech and RegTech sectors. It has recently focused on: using digital IDs for CDD. Institutions increasingly use this, and discussions focused on whether there is any...
EU updates on retail product distribution
The European Commission has reported that consumers still face some obstacles when trying to compare investment funds, life insurance or personal pensions. The report finds that recent EU measures, such as MiFID 2 and...
UK and US announce working group creation
HM Treasury and the US Treasury Department have announced the formation of a Financial Regulatory Working Group, to formalise engagement on bilateral regulatory cooperation. The group is scheduled to meet twice a year
Non-bank PSP joins Faster Payments
The Bank of England has announced that TransferWise, an FCA-regulated non-bank PSP has joined Faster Payments as a direct participant. This is the first non-bank PSP to join a UK payment system settling in central bank...
BEIS publishes Green Paper on modernising consumer markets
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is consulting on proposals which, among other issues, seek to to improve the consumer experience in regulated markets for utilities, telecommunications and...
FCA and PRA publish business plans
The FCA and the PRA have both published their business plans for 2018/2019. The FCA’s business plan shines a spotlight on consumer protection, including in relation to pension products and high-cost credit, as an...
FCA clarifies cryptocurrency regulatory status
FCA has clarified its views on the regulation of cryptocurrency derivatives. It has previously explained that cryptocurrencies are, of themselves, not regulated although they may be part of other regulated products or...
Blockchain: Game Changer or Game Over?
Please join us for our Fintech and Insurtech Forum in London on 10 May. An expert panel will discuss the latest blockchain trends and breakthroughs. Attendance is free and you can register via our website.
UK Finance looks at DLT and identity validation
A paper published by the Whitechapel Think Tank, supported by UK Finance, looks at how technology can help the safe validation of identity and verification. It examines how distributed ledger technology can provide a...