More of the Same or Real Transformation: Does FinTech Warrant New Regulation?

52 Pages Posted: 6 Mar 2020

See all articles by Moran Ofir

Moran Ofir

Reichman University (IDC Herzliya); London School of Economics - Law School

Ido Sadeh

Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliyah, Radzyner School of Law, Students

Date Written: February 4, 2020

Abstract

This Article examines how and why regulating FinTech is different. This question relates to the ongoing debate of whether FinTech is simply “more of the same”—primarily exacerbating existing failures and challenges and hence not requiring new regulations—or a radical transformation that poses unique challenges and thus requires tailored regulatory responses. The Article argues that when looking at each FinTech application individually, FinTech arguably does not create novel challenges and failures, but mainly exacerbate existing ones. When looking at the FinTech phenomenon from a broader perspective, however, it apparently introduces fundamental changes that require corresponding changes in financial regulation. The Article demonstrates this argument from three perspectives. From a transactional perspective, it shows that financial services increasingly rely on emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and big data) and novel business models (e.g., ICO, P2P lending) to disintermediate traditional financial functions and create new financial activities. From a structural perspective, it shows that the financial industry transformed from a homogenous industry dominated by few large financial institutes into a more dispersed industry that includes increasingly diverse types of market participants (FinTech startups, TechFin companies, and financial institutes). From a more abstract perspective, it shows that FinTech innovations tend to grow exponentially, creating new challenges related to the “pacing problem”. The Article argues that these broad, fundamental changes pose new regulatory challenges, as well as exacerbating existing ones, in a way that requires regulators to both reevaluate their existing regulatory strategies and develop new regulatory tools and approaches. It concludes by proposing tailored regulatory responses.

Keywords: FinTech, Regulation, Financial Institutions, Emerging Technologies.

JEL Classification: G20, G28, K22, O33

Suggested Citation

Ofir, Moran and Sadeh, Ido, More of the Same or Real Transformation: Does FinTech Warrant New Regulation? (February 4, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3531718 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3531718

Moran Ofir (Contact Author)

Reichman University (IDC Herzliya) ( email )

P.O. Box 167
Herzliya, 4610101
Israel

London School of Economics - Law School ( email )

Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

Ido Sadeh

Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliyah, Radzyner School of Law, Students ( email )

Herzliya
Israel

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