THELOGICALINDIAN - Financial technology Bitcoin and blockchain startups may anon face authoritative blank from the Appointment of the Comptroller of the Currency OCC The alignment is creating an appointment focused on the arising fintech abridgement and implementing amenable innovation
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U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Creates Fintech Innovation Working Group
The admixture of accounts and technology has U.S. regulators in a frenzy, with concepts like Bitcoin disintermediating the acceptable system. The acceleration of financial technology addition has been rapid, with regulators clumsy to accumulate the pace. Now a new OCC accessory will analysis and assignment with federal regulators apropos the fintech environment.
The new appointment will accept agents in Washington, San Francisco, and New York. These areas are America’s cyberbanking and aldermanic focal points. Moreover, the appointment says it is committed to responsibility in this new abridgement and will “implement a academic framework to advance the agency’s ability” to assignment with the federal cyberbanking system.
“The OCC supports amenable addition that enhances the assurance and acumen of the federal cyberbanking system, treats barter fairly, and promotes banking inclusion,” said Comptroller of the Currency’s Thomas J. Curry.
“By establishing an Office of Innovation, we are ensuring that institutions with federal charters accept a authoritative framework that is acceptant to amenable addition and the administration that supports it.”
Regulators Can’t Keep up With Fintech
Potentially-affected businesses the new appointment will advance include most fintech companies in digital currencies and banking. According to Bloomberg, $13.8 billion was injected into fintech operations aftermost year including mobile, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and lending applications. However authoritative action targeting bequest banking incumbents has not accomplished fintech startups. This is because developers are creating these technologies so fast.
OCC’s “Office of Innovation” will have a Chief Addition Officer alive with agents from the three accustomed cities. The appointment will be a “central point of acquaintance and clearinghouse for requests and advice accompanying to innovation,” said the OCC.
Other aspects included in the office’s calendar will be outreach, administering awareness, and advertisement interagency collaboration. One ambiguous aspect of the OCC advertisement is how it affairs to actualize charters with accustomed fintech firms. Charters could accomplish authoritative action to companies complex in the fintech economy.
OCC’s Regulatory Fintech Initiative Will Begin Next Year
This isn’t the aboriginal time the OCC has addressed banking technology. Back in April, at the American Banker Retail Banking Conference, Thomas J. Curry alleged for cryptocurrency and fintech regulations. The OCC expects its appointment to activate operating by Q1 of 2017 and will bolster the regulatory framework. The bureau also appointed Beth Knickerbocker as interim CIO.
For now, the alignment said there is no assurance apropos chartering of these firms. However after this year the OCC will broadcast a cardboard on the affair and hopes to get some feedback.
The OCC Office of Innovation’s conception is a admonition that regulators are ramping up efforts to get a butt on these arising technologies. However, abounding bodies accept adjustment continues to asphyxiate the chargeless bazaar and stunts addition with antic rules, fees, and licensure.
An accomplished archetype of regulation affliction fintech businesses is New York’s BitLicense. This has acquired abounding companies to leave the region. Of course, bureaucrats and groups like the OCC fundamentally accept they are “doing the apple good” by creating these authoritative frameworks.
What do you anticipate about the conception of the U.S. Office of Innovation? Let us apperceive in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Politico.
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