Dec 19, 2016
• DTCC Connection
Do We Really Need Financial Technology 'Sandboxes'?
By Mark Wetjen, DTCC Managing Director and Head of Global Public Policy
Ed. Note: Read the full article on The Hill web site
At a recent financial technology conference, a member of the audience posed a question to a panel about whether the U.S. needed a more pro-innovation regulatory approach, perhaps one that included “regulatory sandboxes,” a phrase currently in vogue.
Regulatory “sandboxes” can mean different things to different people, as well as to different sectors of the financial services industry. But generally, it refers to a confined regulatory environment with a lighter touch where new products and services can be offered, typically by new market entrants.
The response by a panelist, who is a chief executive of a financial technology firm, to the question was interesting: Jurisdictions other than the U.S. have proposed “regulatory sandboxes” only out of necessity to compete against the U.S. for financial technology, or “fintech,” firms and talent. In other words, the U.S. already is in a position of strength when it comes to innovation in the financial technology space.