Fintech sandbox to be reviewed in a year
It will be another 12 months before the corporate regulator reviews its regulatory sandbox framework that allows fintech businesses to test certain services for up to a year without an Australian financial services or credit licence.
Speaking at the British Australian Fintech Forum in London on Thursday, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) chair, Greg Medcraft, said the regulator would seek feedback form industry and other stakeholders as part of the review process.
The sandbox was launched in December 2016 and Medcraft said it would improve the opportunity for Australian fintechs in three key areas:
- Speed to market – by providing an environment for testing without a licence;
- Organisation competency – by bridging knowledge gaps with more examples and also greater flexibility; and
- Access to capital would be addressed to reduce testing costs.
“Ultimately, entities using the sandbox exemption will have the opportunity to prove a business model and investigate what strategy will best work for their business,” he said.
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