On 25 January 2024, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the FCA published a joint white paper. The paper presents four guiding principles and a roadmap to inform global regulatory and industry approaches for a quantum secure financial sector.

The paper notes that the financial sector “stands on the brink of a transformation from a digital economy to a quantum economy”, with quantum computing having the potential to revolutionise operations across the financial sector by disrupting portfolio management and improving risk management. It also acknowledges the challenges presented, warning that quantum computing could render most current encryption schemes obsolete and through doing so, threaten consumer protection.

Accordingly, four overarching principles are established by the paper, which should inform future action:

• To reuse and repurpose.
• Establish non-negotiables.
• Avoid fragmentation.
• Increase transparency.

Additionally, to help address the risks of quantum computing the paper sets out a four phase roadmap: prepare, clarify, guide, and transition and monitor. The paper is intended to establish the groundwork for future discussions between industry stakeholders and regulatory authorities towards a quantum secure financial sector.