The Swiss Federal Council is aiming to make regulatory changes to create a more prominent fintech market. With new financial technology such as bitcoin becoming more valuable and relevant, the goal is to create a more welcoming environment for startups. The undecided regulatory amendments would be aimed at Switzerland’s domestic financial industry to account for fintech. The proposition is to have different regulations for “firms that accept less than 1 million Swiss francs in deposits”. This would create a “regulatory sandbox” that allows startups to experiment with new technology.
I think this will be a re-occurring trend in many different countries as fintech continues to disrupt norms and processes in the world of finance. Most developed and developing nations understand the strategic necessity of changing regulations to increase efficiency as the market structure changes. More importantly, a lack of proactive and effective regulations would pose a major security risk related to the leaking of confidential information. Paying close attention to these regulations is a smart and beneficial decision that will better Switzerland in the future.
http://www.coindesk.com/switzerland-attract-more-blockchain-startups/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=fintechweeklycom
I think that Switzerland is making a very intelligent decision in preparing their regulations to aid fintech development. There are numerous fintech companies whose technologies can significantly change established financial industries. Governments need to provide regulations to protect the users of the technologies without hindering their development. I think it will be interesting to see how the United States government responds to regulating the fintech industry.
I think the best action that the United States could take regarding this matter would be a proactive approach to regulation. Generally speaking we see banking regulations come about as reactions to failures but the potential risk regarding information security in the the upcoming Fintech age demands that proactive measures be of top priority to regulators.