Regulators in the United Kingdom say that they see a role in facilitating innovation that can reduce compliance costs, and ultimately benefit consumers.
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authorrity (FCA) on Wednesday published a report setting out its approach to the “regtech” sector, a subset of fintech that focuses on utilizing technology to facilitate regulatory compliance.
The FCA says it believes that it has an active role to play in the regtech sector. “We intend to concentrate our efforts on increasing our engagement and collaboration with the regtech community, using our convening authority to help bring together market participants to work on shared challenges; and to act as a catalyst for change that helps to unlock the potential benefits of technology innovation,” the U.K. regulator says in the report.
Additionally, the report notes that there may be a role for the FCA to play in helping define industry standards. “We are investigating how improved technology standards and guidance can be developed, by proactively engaging with established financial services firms and standard setting bodies,” the report says.
There are limits to the role that the FCA can play, the report adds. “The complexity, scale and diversity of legacy infrastructure and existing systems within some financial services firms, makes the implementation of new technologies challenging. That some firms will continue to choose to invest in legacy systems rather than new technologies is a matter for their leadership not the regulator,” it says.
The underlying aim of the FCA’s nvolvement with regtech, the report says, is to encourage innovation and to help identify opportunities for the adoption of new technologies that could improve regulatory compliance, and improve the interface between the regulator and the industry.
Additionally, the FCA aims to help fintech firms gain access to other markets, and to facilitate access to its markets for foreign players.
The report follows a consultation launched last year by the FCA which generated over 100 written submissions, along with a series of roundtable discussions and bilateral meetings to gather feedback on the appropriate role for the FCA in the regtech sector.