Cyber Regulations and Compliance Considerations

Nick McKenzie

INTRODUCTION

Riding the wave of consumers’ mobile and connectivity needs, the fintech start-up industry touts a world of “cheaper”, “faster”, “easier” and “better” services than their banking constituents. But at what cost? And is it due to ease of entry into a largely unregulated market? Words such as “security” and “compliance” appear to be an afterthought for start-ups in a world where traditional FINance and TECHnology systems underpinning banking processes are highly regulated with explicit cybersecurity, and data privacy controls defined by a global array of regulatory notices and guidelines.

Recent breaches of bitcoin cryptocurrency exchanges, B2C companies and other fintech transaction payment start-ups expose the regulatory and compliance gaps in the sector and cause concern for new or existing customers to the industry.

Pressure is on regulators to act, but, in turn, strike the right balance of controls in order not to stifle and potentially derail the adoption of fintech innovation.

This chapter will explore:

• banking technology versus fintech regulation and the current state and conformity of fintech regulatory compliance in relation