On 31 January 2019, the FCA published a webpage providing information on the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN). GFIN was formally launched in January 2019 by an international group of financial regulators and related organisations committed to supporting financial innovation in the interests of consumers, including the FCA. This built on the FCA’s early 2018 proposal to create a global sandbox. The press release announces that the primary 3 functions of GFIN have been confirmed as:
- to act as a network of regulators to collaborate and share experience of innovation in respective markets, including emerging technologies and business models, and to provide accessible regulatory contact information for firms.
- to provide a forum for joint RegTech work and collaborative knowledge sharing/lessons learned; and
- to provide firms with an environment in which to trial cross-border solutions.
Moreover, following feedback on the FCA’s consultation on the network, GFIN have:
- opened a 1-month application period for a pilot phase of cross-border testing. Interested firms are asked to submit applications to relevant participating regulators by 28 February 2019; and
- as part of the finalised terms of reference for governance and membership, expanding from the founding 12 members, the group now includes 29 organisations. These members are listed on the FCA webpage.
