Tag: fintech

Categories
Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 60 – The Evolution of Fintech: Asia, The US and the Implications for Inclusion with Theodora Lau

Based in the US, Theodora Lau, or Theo, as she’s known, is Hong Kong-born and bred and the founder of Unconventional Ventures. Her firm’s mission is to develop and grow an ecosystem of financial institutions, corporations, startups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and accelerators to improve banking and meet the often-unmet needs of consumers, including older adults and women. Theo’s mission is to connect founders with funders, specifically underrepresented entrepreneurs.

She regularly mentors and advises startups in financial services and healthcare/caregiving as part of her work. She is also an advisor to B21 Ventures, which focuses on entrepreneurs disrupting finance and health through artificial intelligence.

Theo has been referred to by the American Banker as one of the “Most Influential Women in FinTech” and is one of few global experts providing authoritative insights on both the US vis a vis Asia.
​
Besides being a best-selling author, Theo is an accomplished technologist and is much sought after for her unique insights on the success of super apps in Asia, the evolution of AI, and the disparity in digital adoption between regions. She is also a public speaker, writer, and advisor who seeks to spark innovation in the public and private sectors to benefit forgotten demographics and create a more inclusive society.

Theo regularly discusses AI, gender equity, FinTech, inclusion, and longevity. She is a guest contributor for various top industry events, publications, and podcasts, including Fintech Futures, the American Banker, BBC, the Journal of Digital Banking, Harvard Business Review, Nikkei Asia, MIT Tech Review, Money20/20, Finovate, RISE, FinTech Week Hong Kong, Breaking Banks, Irish Tech News, and the Forbes Technology Council.

She is the co-author of “Beyond Good: How Technology is Leading a Purpose-Driven Business Revolution” and co-author of “The Metaverse Economy” (both books are now available in paperback editions). Theo is also the host of One Vision, a podcast on innovation and fintech, and runs a weekly LinkedIn newsletter called FinTech Prose on emerging technologies (such as voice-activated/enabled software and AI), inclusion, longevity, fintech, innovation, and using technology for good. Her monthly column on Fintech Futures explores the intersection of FinTech and humanity.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York and a Master of Science in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, Theo provides listeners with an in-depth look at the evolving fintech landscape and its regulatory challenges. A common thread in her discussion with our host, Ajay Shamdasani, is the seeming chasm in digital adoption between Asia and the US.

Theo talks about growing up in Hong Kong, eventually heading to the States for education, and her impressions two-plus decades later as having been fortunate enough to have a catbird seat at the beginning of the modern age of digital finance. ​

Having seen FinTech evolve throughout her career, she also recounts the field’s greatest successes in terms of benefits to the financial system and society overall. Theo comments on why the US is so far behind places like Japan and China in terms of digital payment options, noting that in China, the development of the ecosystem is primarily driven by large, big tech juggernauts like WeChat and Tencent. Similarly, in Japan, which she emphasizes has been “pretty cash heavy until recent times,” the nation’s conglomerates are pushing the move towards digital payments. She stresses, however, that while Asia has a rich FinTech ecosystem, it is at different levels of development because the region is not a monolith.

​Theo also shares her thoughts on how long it will be before the US fully embraces digital banking, as many Americans still seem content to write cheques.

​It is in sharp contrast to Hong Kong, where the South China Morning Post reported in mid-December 2024 that, based on figures from the Hong Kong Association of Banks, the use of cheques in the Special Administrative Region has fallen and is expected to continue to decline at an annual rate of between 10-20%. The number of cheque payments in the city dropped by 27% to 4.33 million this November, compared with 5.9 million in November 2021, while the value fell by 22% to HK$468.54 billion per month over the same period.

Other markets, such as the UK, Australia, and Singapore, are also trying to reduce the use of cheques.

Yet, as Theo remarks, the number of regulators in the US might at least partly explain its sluggishness in rolling out more digital payment options.

​Reflecting on the post-Covid world, she points out that worldwide, financial regulators and central banks have been proactive, despite geopolitical issues, to create linkages for seamless cross-border transactions and transfers—as seen by Project Nexus, the Bank of International Settlements Innovation Hub, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore building towards a unified system for fast payments across Southeast Asia, with a planned extension into South Asia.

What used to be siloed and driven by private organizations has led regulators to see the value of interconnectivity now.

The challenge is how FinTech can benefit financial inclusion. There is a widespread perception that tech creators sometimes promise more than they can deliver, especially in terms of bettering the lives of the poor, elderly, illiterate, uneducated, or uninformed.

The problem is not confined to developing nations: 4.2% of US households, or 5.6 million households, are classified as unbanked, with a further 14.2%, or 19 million households, deemed underbanked. The question is, therefore, one of fairer access to the financial apparatus.

​The discussion concludes with Theo stating that it is not technology that poses the most significant challenge. Instead, she says, it is the adoption of tech by local regulators or enterprises and the regulations that enable them. She also remarks on generative AI and machine learning in financial services and whether they can facilitate digital inclusion in the Asia-Pacific and the West while acknowledging the related liability issues and that regulators are perhaps not as tech-savvy as they need to be.

​Looking ahead, Theo notes that a key challenge is that many startups and tech firms generally focus their marketing and sales on younger users—despite more wealth held by older people—because of a perception of a lack of digital competency amongst the latter by entrepreneurs.

​She says another roadblock to tech adoption is by financial institutions themselves, as many banks and MNC CEOs are more focused on the bottom line and fear that large, transformational projects will cost millions and hurt their remuneration.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong – Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

Useful links in this episode:

You might also be interested in:

Connect with RR Podcast at:

LinkedIn: https://hk.linkedin.com/company/hkufintech 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hkufintech.fb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hkufintech/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HKUFinTech 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hkufintech
Website: https://www.hkufintech.com/regulatoryramblings 

Connect with the Compliance Podcast Network at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/compliance-podcast-network/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compliancepodcastnetwork/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompliancePodcastNetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfoxlaw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiceofcompliance/
Website: https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net

Categories
10 For 10

10 For 10: Top Compliance Stories For the Week Ending November 9, 2024

Welcome to 10 For 10, the podcast that brings you the week’s Top 10 compliance stories in one podcast each week. Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you the compliance professional and the compliance stories you need to know to end your busy week. Sit back, and in 10 minutes, hear the stories every compliance professional should know from the prior week. Every Saturday, 10 For 10 highlights the most important news, insights, and analysis for the compliance professional, all curated by the Voice of Compliance, Tom Fox. Get your weekly filling of compliance stories with 10 for 10, a podcast produced by the Compliance Podcast Network.

  • Canada shuts down TikTok. (NYT)
  • US backs Argentina in fight of YPF. (FT)
  • FinTechs need to be more proactive around regulatory compliance. (American Banker)
  • French soccer corruption investigations expand. (Bloomberg)
  • The cost of flouting corruption. (Forbes)
  • Fat Leonard was sentenced. (USNI)
  • How corruption facilitates organized crime. (UN)
  • SEC needs to prepare for more regulatory challenges.  (WSJ)
  • It turns out audit reports do matter.    (WSJ)
  • Warren rebukes DOJ over TD Bank settlement.    (WSJ)

For more information on the Ethico Toolkit for Middle Managers, available at no charge, click here.

You can check out the Daily Compliance News for four curated compliance and ethics-related stories each day, here.

Check out the full 3-book series, The Compliance Kids, on Amazon.com.

Connect with Tom 

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

LinkedIn

Categories
Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: November 8, 2024 – The Rewriting How Business is Done Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News—all from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world: compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

  • Canada shuts down TikTok. (NYT)
  • US backs Argentina in fight of YPF. (FT)
  • FinTechs need to be more proactive around regulatory compliance. (American Banker)
  • Will the Trump Admin rewrite how the US does business?  (WSJ)

For more information on the Ethico Toolkit for Middle Managers, available at no charge, click here.

Check out the full 3-book series, The Compliance Kids, on Amazon.com.

Categories
Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 50 – Hong Kong to Dubai and Back Again Reflections on A Career in FinTech Ep with Syed Musheer Ahmed

Syed Musheer Ahmed has extensive experience in capital markets, fintech, and virtual assets, including a decade as a global markets trader before coming to Hong Kong to attain his MBA from the University of Hong Kong and London Business School’s joint program.

Since 2016, Musheer has contributed extensively to building the region’s fintech and virtual asset ecosystem, particularly as the co-founder and the inaugural general manager of the Fintech Association of Hong Kong.

For the last five years, he has been the managing director of FinStep Asia – a firm he founded to provide venture-building and empower cross-border bridges across Asia. In the interim, from October 2022 to January 2024, he served as a financial markets risk assurance lead as part of the foundational team of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai.

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, Musheer chats with host Ajay Shamdasani about his background, growing up in India’s information technology hub, Bangalore, his initial training as an engineer, and his stint as a regulator in the Mideast’s Manhattan.

As the discussion progresses, Musheer reaffirms his faith in Hong Kong as a place for FinTech and crypto entrepreneurs, discussing what it is about the city and the field that continues to attract and amaze him.

He also stresses that in the evolution of FinTech, the field has long since passed the nascent stage and is no longer all that new and glamorous since the advent of the iPhone in 2007 and Satoshi Nakamoto’s paper on Blockchain first released in 2009. Yet, he acknowledges that technological innovation continues, as he shares his thoughts on the regulatory approaches taken across Asia by mainland China, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong – and the similarities and differences between some of the major jurisdictions.

While virtual assets have evolved in some parts of the world, in others, they are still somewhat of a grey zone. Musheer also comments on the prospects for cross-border crypto regulation in the Asia-Pacific or even internationally evolving to harmonized rules, mutual recognition, or common passporting—as was discussed a decade ago for the investment funds sector.

He also shares his views on choosing between stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which are not binary. Musheer emphasizes that it is not an either-or choice because both fulfill different purposes.

The conversation concludes with his assessment of the potential for Hong Kong and mainland China to collaborate with the Middle East’s FinTech and virtual asset hubs, such as Dubai.

Connect with RR Podcast at:

LinkedIn: https://hk.linkedin.com/company/hkufintech 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hkufintech.fb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hkufintech/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HKUFinTech 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hkufintech
Website: https://www.hkufintech.com/regulatoryramblings 

Connect with the Compliance Podcast Network at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/compliance-podcast-network/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compliancepodcastnetwork/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompliancePodcastNetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfoxlaw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiceofcompliance/
Website: https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net/

Categories
Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 47 – The Biggest Bank Heist in History Is Coming with Linda Jeng

Linda Jeng is a digital economy leader and strategist with over two decades of experience in FinTech, policy, and regulation. She is the founder & CEO of Digital Self Labs, a Washington D.C.-based Web3 advisory firm. Digital Self Labs is a cross-disciplinary advisory firm combining blockchain software expertise with policy and regulatory strategy.

Linda helps clients design and implement innovative solutions that empower individuals and enable interoperability, transparency, and efficiency in the financial and digital sectors. 

She is also a renowned scholar and educator, with affiliations at Georgetown University Law Center, Duke University Law School, and the Bank for International Settlements. She conducts cutting-edge research and teaches courses on open banking, digital identity, and decentralized finance (DeFi). and has authored several publications and contributed to influential books on these topics. She is a frequent media speaker, commentator, and a Forbes contributor. Linda holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a master’s in EU and International Law from Université Toulouse Capitole. She speaks Mandarin Chinese, French, and essential German. 

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, she talks to host Ajay Shamdasani about an op-ed piece she wrote, which Coindesk published entitled “The Biggest Bank Heist in History Is Coming.” 

The discussion’s premise and focus are that regulators permit banks to tokenize financial assets such as bank deposits, U.S. Treasuries, and corporate debt. Yet, they want institutions to use permissioned networks rather than the decentralized blockchains that keep assets safe from hackers. 

As Linda stated in her article: “In February, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s acting head, Michael Hsu, announced plans for new rules on operational resilience for large banks with critical operations, including third-party service providers. Critically, what wasn’t discussed was that the rules would “treat the use of permissioned networks by the big banks to tokenize real-world assets and liabilities, an omission that neglects critical new vulnerabilities for the global financial system.” 

A key theme of the conversation is that encouraging permissioned networks over permissionless blockchains will inevitably lead to cybersecurity attacks “on a scale previously unknown as the financial system moves to tokenize trillions of dollars worth of real-world assets and liabilities. The biggest bank heist in history is in the making.” 

“By contrast, most successful crypto hacks usually involve centralized protocols where hackers only need to hack the admin keys of one or a few actors to gain control and steal digital assets. Similarly, permissioned networks are controlled by only a few parties so that they can be more easily hacked than blockchains maintained by thousands of validators. The concentration of attack vectors in the big banks that control these permissioned networks (or the central banks that control non-blockchain ledgers) is like sticking targets on their backs,” she said. 

Linda discusses how she ended up in the legal profession, what drew her to digital assets as a scholar, and how she believes the worst attacks against banks are yet to come. 

Podcast Discussion

3:51 The journey of the family rebel to empower self and community 

12:34 Taking on the challenge of understanding the causes of the 2008 financial crisis 

17:23 The Dodd-Frank Act is still relevant today 

21:36 The role of Big Tech in the financial system is a significant issue 

22:43 Fractional reserve banking: CBDCs and Stablecoins, design is key 

24:37 The nature of money is changing—exciting times in FinTech 

27:22 Tokenized real-world assets must be in the most resilient system possible 

31:21 The security advantage of permissionless systems over permission systems 

33:27 Seeing the parallels between tech and law: working in a cross-disciplinary way 

37:28 Lawyers should have a seat at the product design table 

38:42 The biggest regulatory challenge: a lack of understanding about the benefits of decentralization 

40:40 Self-empowerment: Why web3 matters 

42:09 The future web should restore personal control to identity and assets 

45:01 Taking back our rights from Big Techs 

48:42 It is an Exciting time to be studying law as technology fundamentally changes most things 

50:41 AI, Google Search, and new tools: The need to change how we research and write 

Connect with RR Podcast at:

LinkedIn: https://hk.linkedin.com/company/hkufintech 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hkufintech.fb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hkufintech/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HKUFinTech 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hkufintech
Website: https://www.hkufintech.com/regulatoryramblings 

Connect with the Compliance Podcast Network at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/compliance-podcast-network/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compliancepodcastnetwork/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompliancePodcastNetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfoxlaw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiceofcompliance/
Website: https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net/

Categories
Data Driven Compliance

Data Driven Compliance: Sheetal Parikh on Banking Integration: Connecting Banks and Fintech Companies

Are you struggling to keep up with the ever-changing compliance programs in your business? Look no further than the award-winning Data Driven Compliance podcast hosted by Tom Fox. It features an in-depth conversation about the uses of data and data analytics in compliance programs. Data Driven Compliance is back with another exciting episode. The intersection of law, compliance, and data is becoming increasingly important in the world of cross-border transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Today, we look at the intersection of data analytics, banking, and compliance with Sheetal Parikh.

Sheetal Parikh is a seasoned attorney with over 18 years of experience in the financial services industry, currently serving as the Associate General Counsel and VP of Compliance at Treasury Prime. Drawing from her extensive background in securities and commodities litigation and regulatory work, Parikh advocates for a collaborative approach to integrating Fintech and banks, with a strong emphasis on compliance. She believes that Treasury Prime’s role is not to offload compliance functions but to provide banks and Fintech with a toolkit and set of tools, both through technology and expertise, to establish a compliance program that suits their specific risk profile and use case. Parikh also foresees a future where fintech companies offering banking products and services will face more direct oversight and regulation, as they are currently regulated indirectly through banks. Join Tom Fox and Sheetal Parikh on this episode of the Data Driven Compliance podcast to delve deeper into this topic.

Highlights Include:

  • Banking Integration and Compliance Solutions
  • Responsible Innovation in the Banking Industry
  •  Consequences of Regulatory Non-Compliance
  • Regulating Fintech Companies as Banks

 Resources:

Sheetal Parikh on LinkedIn

Treasury Prime

 Tom Fox 

Connect with me on the following sites:

Threads

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

Categories
Compliance and AI

Compliance and AI – Vinay Kumar on the Business Uses for AI in Regulated Industries

In this episode, Tom Fox interviews Vinay Kumar, the founder, and CEO of Arya.ai. Vinay discusses the importance of regulations in AI to prevent unethical use in business, including the potential dangers of superintelligence. Vinay emphasizes the need for responsible and ethical use of AI while discussing how Arya.ai simplifies the deployment of responsible and safe AI in the banking, finance, and insurance industries. Vinay also explains how a verticalized AI cloud with observability layers can provide value to the industry by ensuring transparency, auditability, monitoring, and safety of model output to protect customer and company interests.

Don’t miss this informative podcast that will enlighten you on the proper use of AI in business and the importance of regulations.

Key Highlights:

  • ML observability and founding Arya.ai
  • From Stem Research to BFSI: Pivoting AI Development
  • AI solutions for the insurance industry
  • Importance of ML observability layer
  • Challenges of Health Claims Automation
  • Ethical Concerns in AI Usage for Business

 Key Quote:

“We thought we were solving a fundamental problem, which is simplifying the information interaction problem, and that can only happen when I spend my time more effectively on the topic rather than solving these on-ground tasks.”

Resources

Vinay Kumar on LinkedIn

Arya.ai

Tom Fox

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

Categories
Daily Compliance News

January 21, 2022 the Boeing Reopening? Edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • The Mucci bitcoin ETF plan rejected by SEC. (Bloomberg)
  • AG to meet with families of Boeing disasters. (WSJ)
  • Dealmaking improv? (Reuters)
  • AML to get FinTech boost? (FinExtra)
Categories
Coffee and Regs

Trends in Transaction Reporting in 2022

Trends in Transaction Reporting in 2022

In this episode, CSS’s Transaction Reporting product team of Alexis Wiazmitinoff and Nicklas Nilsson make predictions on trends in transaction reporting in 2022 – from updates to SFTR to preparation for EMIR REFIT.
 

 

About Our Guest Speakers:


Alexis Wiazmitinoff is a Product Leader at CSS, responsible for leading the Global Transaction Reporting (GTR) solution. He is responsible for setting the GTR product roadmap and strategy. He guides the GTR product team during Sales/Pre-Sales engagements, product design/ delivery, thought leadership and takes part in client events. Alexis has 10 years of FinTech experience and a strong background working with traders, portfolio managers and front-to-back office personnel as part of core banking transformation projects on the continent and in the UK. Prior to joining CSS, Alexis product managed London Stock Exchange Group’s EMIR Trade Repository.”
 

 

 

 
Nicklas Nilsson is a Regulatory Specialist at CSS concentrating on global transaction reporting, including SFTR, MiFIR and EMIR. Nicklas is currently in a cross-functional role covering the regulations from analysis to implementation. He has eight years of experience working in the finance industry, including operational experience in fund reporting and regulatory implementation. Prior to joining CSS, Nicklas held positions at Swedbank, SEB and Wahlstedt Sageryd.

 

Categories
Coffee and Regs

The Perfect Storm – PRIIPs and SFDR in 2022

The Perfect Storm – PRIIPs and SFDR in 2022

In this episode, CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan makes predictions for PRIIPs and how the regulatory landscape in 2022 with PRIIPs and SFDR is reminiscent of 2018 with the implementation of PRIIPs and MiFID II.
 

 

About Our Guest Speakers:


Ronan Brennan is the Chief Product Officer at Compliance Solutions Strategies (CSS). In his role, he has direct responsibility for the strategic evolution of the global suite of CSS products and regulatory content. Managing product in CSS involves ensuring the product suite is ready to support both the current and future compliance management and regulatory reporting needs of investment management and advisory firms globally. Ronan participates as a speaker in many industry events each year, in addition to publishing a company blog and development of thought leadership materials. Ronan has 26 years of experience in the technology sector, 21 of which have been spent in the investment data management and regulatory reporting space.
 

 
Natalie Silverman serves as CSS’s Chief Marketing Officer. A leading FinTech specialist, Natalie has over 18 years of go-to-market and strategic expertise in financial services, SaaS, media and news. Most recently she has helped to build innovation labs across startups and enterprises.