The Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission has concluded a financial technology cooperation agreement with the Canadian Securities Administration, spotlighting efforts to promote global partnerships in the potential-laden sector.
The Canadian agency is the securities regulatory authority for the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
According to the FSC, the pact builds on the agencies’ respective sandbox initiatives, enabling both sides to promote better understanding of each other’s regulatory regimes while referring startups to their counterparts for tie-ups. By facilitating sharing of information on local developments and financial services innovations, the agreement will also create more opportunities for FinTech businesses to expand into new markets, the agency added.
A regulatory sandbox is a framework allowing FinTech startups to test innovative applications, products and services, as well as novel business models and delivery mechanisms in a controlled environment for a limited period. This is the fourth FinTech pact concluded by the FSC since March 2018, following ones with counterparts in Poland, the U.S. state of Arizona and France, in that order.
The deal comes a year after the FSC joined the Global Financial Innovative Network. Launched in January 2019, the GFIN comprises more than 50 financial regulators and organizations in 30 plus countries and territories supporting financial innovation in the interests of consumers. (SFC-E)