Regulator called on to even entry playing field
One of Australia's corporate regulators has been accused of inconsistency in its policing of new entrants to the financial services space, with smaller innovators unfairly subject to more lax treatment than larger players.
In response to Coles' submission to the Financial System Inquiry, which said regulatory framework squeezed out non-bank players with its tight entry barriers, PayPal compliance manager David Hanna stressed there were significant establishment hurdles in the market, particularly those imposed by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
However, he said the barriers for smaller players, such as PayPal's stored value card competitors, were in some cases less rigourous.
He said the same barriers should be imposed for all organisations, whether it be banks or Coles or start-ups.
"I think the challenge for APRA is making sure there's like for like," he said.
"As some of these smaller, but growing organisations come to the table, it's important to make sure there's equal and fair treatment of those requirements."
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