Regulating fintech: Allowing for innovation while protecting investors and consumers

How Ireland’s innovative fintech sector navigates regulation, to keep first-mover advantage while satisfying regulatory requirements

Regulating fintechs while allowing innovation to thrive is a tricky balance, according to Ian Nelson, head of financial and regulatory at KPMG.

Innovation is the lifeblood of fintech, yet regulators need to be very careful when it comes to how new products, services, and processes are introduced and controlled. How do regulators make space for innovative fintech at the same time as protecting financial markets and consumers?

Fintech comprises all areas of technology and innovation in the financial services space, including payments, trading, data, risk, compliance, business intelligence, currency exchange and peer-to-peer lending. The Republic of Ireland is seen as a European fintech hotspot, with a strong base of indigenous expertise.