UK’s FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), announced that eight firms have passed an initial screening to begin cross-border testing of new fintech and regtech offerings with GFIN (Global Financial Innovation Network).

GFIN is a worldwide network of 35 regulatory bodies, which aims to help innovative firms navigate between countries as they look to scale up their ideas in the financial sector. It was built on a proposal by the UK’s FCA in 2018 to create a global regulatory sandbox. As a result, GFIN is now running a pilot for firms wishing to test their products, services or business models across more than one jurisdiction.

Out of 44 applications, 8 firms will now develop testing plans to be approved for cross-border testing, which may begin as early as July this year. The 8 companies are Onfido, Tradle, Ascent RegTech Starling Trust, Alphapoint, Coinvestion, DACX and Atlant.

Speaking at the Innovate Finance Global Summit in London on 29 April, Christopher Woolard, FCA’s Executive Director of Strategy and Competition says “These are propositions that are not just tinkering around the edges of the status quo, but have the potential to fundamentally change how things are done. Propositions that are taking on known cross-border issues, like trade and consumer access, and offer the possibility of real gains for society. These are issues that cannot be solved in isolation, one market at a time. Truly global challenges require a global response and GFIN lets us test whether this can become reality.”

GFIN members currently participating in cross-border trials

The following regulators are currently involved in the cross-border testing workstream.

• Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC)
• Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB)
• Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA)
• British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) (British Columbia, Canada)
• Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) (Ontario, Canada)
• Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) (Québec, Canada)
• Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)
• Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC)
• Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary)
• Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) (Astana, Kazakhstan)
• Bank of Lithuania (LB)
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
• Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)
• Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA, UK) [GFIN Chair]
• Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC)
• Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC)

GFIN also acts as a new framework for regulators to collaborate and share experience of innovation in respective markets. It is an open initiative and continue to welcome interest from regulators and international organisations to join its network.

More information is available on FCA website at https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/global-financial-innovation-network and organisations can contact any GFIN member or email the FCA at [email protected].