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ARTICLE · 10 MAY 2017

Regulatory sandbox: Room for fintechs to play

Colin Biggers & Paisley
Explore more from Colin Biggers & Paisley

Certain fintechs have 12 months' immunity from holding an AFSL or an ACL, to enable testing of their product or service.

AustraliaFinance and Banking
Matthew Bode
Matthew Bode
Melanie Williamson
Melanie Williamson
Harriette Watson
Harriette Watson

IN BRIEF - CERTAIN FINTECHS MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE FINTECH LICENSING EXEMPTION

Changes to ASIC's " Regulatory sandbox" framework came into effect in December 2016 to provide financial technology businesses (fintechs) the opportunity to test the viability of their services without the usual barriers associated with providing financial services or engaging in credit activities. Under the framework, certain fintechs will be provided with 12 months' immunity from the requirement to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) or an Australian Credit Licence (ACL) to enable them to test their product or service's viability.

This framework has come off the back of Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison's May 2016 announcement, Supporting Australia's FinTech Future, to implement a regulatory sandbox in a bid to encourage the Federal Government's "Innovation Boom".

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