1st Annual Conference Fintech: Regulation and Disruption

On 28 February 2017, Afore Consulting organised the first annual conference on FinTech and Digitalisation: Regulation and Disruption. The event brought together more than 350 participants from the European regulatory and supervisory community, industry, academia and civil society. Participants welcomed both the work of the European Commission’s Task Force and the European Parliament’s own initiative report on FinTech.

The objective of the conference was to explore whether and, if so, what European policy response there should be to the growth of new technologies in financial services. Participants agreed that the use of technology in financial services is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the industry has traditionally been at the forefront of innovation. What makes the current debate different is the speed of innovation, the range of services and processes it impacts, the changing relationship with the customer and the emergence of new players and competitors.

The keynote speakers and panelists explored whether regulators and supervisors need to adapt the existing European regulatory framework or whether this would be premature (‘wait and see’). Instead, policy makers should promote innovation and disruption. Other options that were discussed included providing supervisory guidance and oversight in the form of so called sandboxes. Policy makers also have a role to play through the standard setting processes and, where appropriate, the effective enforcement of EU competition rules.

The overall conclusion of the debate seemed to be that there is no single solution. The appropriate policy response will vary depending on the product and sector within financial services. Speakers also commented on the work done by supervisors at the European and international level.