ASIC deepens commitment to RegTech

The initiatives being undertaken by ASIC are “among a range of proposals” outlined in the recently released Report 523 – ASIC’s Innovation Hub and our approach to regulatory technology.

“The report comes as ASIC’s regulatory sandbox begins to take shape, with the first entity able to make use of the class waiver fintech licensing exemption from mid-May,” the regulator said.

“ASIC also continues to grant tailored waivers to fintech firms to reduce red tape without fundamentally compromising consumer protections.”

The RegTech liaison group will comprise of a number of industry bodies, technology firms, academics, regulators, consultants and consumers, with an intention to “enable networking, discussion of RegTech developments and collaboration opportunities” to promote the application of RegTech, ASIC said.

The regulator will also host a hackathon in conjunction with the industry later in 2017, saying “such events have potential to catalyse thinking” and address the regulation of commonly faced problems within the industry.

ASIC has also committed to a series of new RegTech trials within its regulatory, supervisory and enforcement work.

ASIC is committed to supporting developments in the RegTech sector and a key aspect of our approach is to learn from industry input as well as good international case studies and our own experiences engaging with the sector,” said ASIC commissioner John Price.

“ASIC believes RegTech can help organisations build a culture of compliance, identify learning opportunities and save time and money relating to regulatory matters, while improving compliance and outcomes for consumers. Our goal is to see the community benefit from these new technologies whilst minimising any potential risks.”

[Related: Fintechs welcome to ‘eat our lunch’, says ANZ]