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  • user 3:35 am on July 10, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Brexit, , ,   

    Brexit impact on payments 

    On March 29, 2017, Britain decided to leave the European Union (EU) and invoked Article 50—following the referendum held on June 23, 2016, in which 51.9 percent of the participating UK electorate voted to leave the EU. Though the UK will officially leave the EU by March 29, 2019, followed by a transition period of 21 months, the exit decision itself triggered exchange rates so volatile that it became difficult for businesses to maintain clear visibility on their international transfers. will eventually have an on business, payment service providers, and consumers—but it will largely depend on how the UK’s future trading relationship is going to be with the EU.

    In the absence of clarity of the eventual shape of Brexit, certain financial institutions are planning for the “hard” Brexit scenario and making decisions about locations, hiring and changes. From a  perspective, are reviewing their solutions across Liquidity (notional pooling, cash concentration), payments (SCT, SDD, high-value payments, FX), cash management services (virtual accounts, receivables management) and Euro-denominated products to continue to operate across borders.

    Post the transition period, the UK might also lose direct access to Euro Clearing & Settlement Mechanisms (CSMs) such as TARGET2, EBA EURO1 and EBA STEP2. UK banks may need to build Euro-clearing propositions in Europe to handle affiliates and third party/correspondent bank high-value clearing, which would involve rerouting transactions, indirect memberships via Europe branches, Nostro setups, reviewing charging models, etc.

    Non-EU financial institutions will not be able to use their UK branches to pay and collect funds after Brexit takes place, and would need to consider transferring SEPA access sponsorship from the UK to European branches. However, if they remain part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), they can continue to take advantage of SEPA.

    Acquiring players may have to move their headquarters to other European markets and take new contracts to operate in the EU. Split of acquiring entities means a significant overhead by splitting scheme submissions across multiple BINs. Card machine providers would need to reclassify their machines as international or inter-regional so that customers and merchants are aware of all the changes while making card payments. The interchange classification of the UK will significantly affect merchant pricing with open questions such as the UK’s registration as part of the EEA post Brexit having significant impact on interchange base costs. Also, unknown regulatory position post Brexit on key issues such as interchange caps and card surcharges.

    PSD2 is applicable to UK banks since it came into effect in January 2018. Banks have already spent more than GBP750 million in preparation for the regulation, but once UK has officially left the EU, the UK Open Banking initiative is more likely to replace PSD2 and potentially have limited impact on a practical level.

    The UK startup ecosystem massively supported the “Remain&; vote as it provides them easy access to the Single Market, which is an important asset for startups’ business development potential. Now, they are quickly adapting to the fast-changing environment—and developing cross-border business is anyway part of the tech entrepreneur’s DNA.

    While negotiating exit from the EU, it is important from a payments perspective that there is no detriment for customers or businesses, and that the UK economy continues to operate smoothly. Without any solid evidence on the changes to current legislation, firms need to ensure that compliance and change teams are on the front foot to meet the requirements of the new ecosystem.

    The post Brexit impact on payments appeared first on Accenture Banking Blog.

    Accenture Banking Blog

     
  • user 12:18 pm on December 8, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Brexit, , , , , Thrives, , Welcoming   

    Regtech Thrives On Change: Welcoming Trump, Brexit and China 

    Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher of the 5th century BC, is quoted as saying “ is the only constant in life.” His doctrine was around change being central in the universe. This has also been translated to “the only constant is change.” And this exactly why , the cross-sector category, and will continueRead More
    Bank Innovation

     
  • user 3:35 am on September 19, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Brexit, , , , sandboxing,   

    BREXIT – A Catalyst For Blockchain Technology? 

    — this topic has been in everyones mind for the prior weeks as I traveled across Germany and the US, not only in financial services. Nevertheless, today the first shock in financial services has gone and according to my opinion the Brexit has the potential to become THE game changer for implementing — fast track. Not only in financial services.

    &;We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.&; &; Bill Gates

    But why? Currently London is to the European Union as Manhattan is to the United States. But why is London so important for Financial Services in Europe? European finance depends on the „City“, not to mention London’s dominance of financial services in UK: London is representing 9.6% of the United Kingdom’s GDP. Globally the FCA is one of the most innovative regulators, not only in terms of and for Startups. According to my opinion, passporting, sandboxing and a new EU bureaucratic for the UK could be the game changer in terms of Blockchain.

    First: What’s passporting?

    To break it down: when you get a license for financial services in one country, you are able to passport this license to other countries, meaning you don’t have to spend money on applications for each country, learning different languages and wait to got through the bureaucratic application processes for all the European member states. A great approach for global acting financial institutions — with this approach London established itself as a financial service gateway to the European Continent.

    Second: What&;s sandboxing?

    The UK regulator, the FCA, established a safe space for FinTech startups, where businesses can test innovative products, services, business models and delivery mechanisms. Means building new businesses in a live environment without immediately incurring all the regulatory consequences. Linked to this approach for FinTech Startups, the FCA established a safe space for Blockchain Startups early 2016 as well. Blockchain Startups should experiment in a safe environment with financial service technology. All the efforts are underlined by the support of the Central Bank of England — the Central Bank of England has taken steps to explore the potential of Blockchain Technology as well.

    Third: This brings me to the point >> passporting, sandboxing and a new EU bureaucratic for the UK could be the game changer in terms of Blockchain and Brexit, but why?

    Taking the real opportunity for the UK and the European Union is to use the current time of uncertainty of leaving the EU to take action. Action in terms of implementing a new technology. For instance currently it is rather uncertain that global will keep the passportability of their licenses as well as staying in the UK. Banks need new incentives for staying in the UK.

    brexit

    From Pixabay

    To break it down shortly — incentives for Banks and the UK in relation to Blockchain could be (extract):

    &8211; Value Innovation — using sandboxing for establishing new standards to record, exchange, and trade assets as well as liabilities. Replacing traditional exchange and centralized markets as well as lowering barriers for business creation

    &8211; Re-Architecting the EU bureaucratic — implementing a document formation and management system for self-enforcing contracts (so called smart contracts) between the EU und UK

    &8211; Rebuilding Government and Democracy — rekindling the public’s trust in political institutions in the UK by establishing greater transparency and accountability in voting on the Blockchain

    New difficulties, but also great opportunities arise in our digital interconnected world between the EU and UK. London and the UK must act and innovate &8211; more than ever &8211; to ensure London’s preeminence as a global financial hub.

    The potential is big: the FCA has an innovative approach for Blockchain Startups and Banks — trial and error: this is unique in the European Union and might be one reason for Banks staying in the UK.

    brexit

    From Pixabay

    sandboxing: this is unique in the European Union

    Nevertheless, the Brexit was a defeat for the European Idea, but every defeat makes you stronger, learn from the past, adapt the future, be innovative and just try. The Internet of Information was just the start, the Internet of Value has the potential for changing our whole life:

    Stand up Europe and implement the Blockchain Technology!

    Source: Own Research/ Ideas, Forbes, Fortune

     

    This article first appeared on LinkedIn Pulse. Featured Image: Pixabay

    The post BREXIT &8211; A Catalyst For Blockchain Technology? appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     
  • user 9:57 pm on September 18, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Brexit, ,   

    UK-Based Fintech Companies In Limbo Struggling With Uncertain Post-Brexit Future 

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    -Based Companies In Limbo Struggling With Uncertain Post- Future

    The battle for the world’s fintech hub after the Brexit vote is still clouded by uncertainty, but time is running out.

    On September 16, the UK Prime Minister Theresa May told the European Council President Donald Tusk that Britain would likely begin the process of withdrawal from the EU in January or February 2017.

    This comment may heat up the battle of which city is likely to become the world’s fintech hub.

    Many banking and/or financial related startups have been considering the move to mainland Europe, but the uncertainty surrounding as to when and how the roll-out of Brexit will take place has made the level of change unknown, says Lucas Cervigni, MD of the global consortium, Agentic UK.

    Britain-based fintech companies in limbo

    A recent Ernst & Young report ranks Britain as still being on top in terms of the global fintech ecosystems. Also, as the world’s fifth largest economy, coupled with the positivity coming from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and regulatory authorities, it is clear that Britain wants the fintech industry, as well as the Blockchain sector, to thrive.

    However, there are suggestions that the vote could still take the title away from the UK, particularly as fintech firms have expressed their worries of being cut off from the single market once Britain leaves the EU.

    Cervigni noted that with so much unclear at the moment, the only thing they have started to notice happening is that some UK-based fintech startups are experiencing trouble receiving funding. He believes the continued uncertainty around the EU exit is driving this issue. He states in an email:

    “For the moment, the majority of the conversation in the fintech industry is around the migration of skills. The ability to hire highly skilled individuals from across not just Europe but further afield is an integral part of the industry’s success in the UK. Many multinational companies in the space have already spoken out about the need for the UK government to consider a special and more lax visa program for these very necessary employees.”

    With cities like Berlin, Paris and Zurich preparing to attract fintech firms, and the UK’s Financial Stability Board looking at whether using the Blockchain for processes such as settling transactions could undermine financial systems and if any new rules are needed, the signs that fintech firms in London will move to mainland Europe are still indeterminate.

    On a personal note, Cervigni thinks digital currencies and multiple Blockchains have a positive outlook based on current assessment because they have many different use cases, properties, and values which are extremely beneficial across different industries.

    “I am confident that both investors and government heavyweights will also be supportive,” he says. “It is clear that these are technologies which should not be fostered out because of the unlimited opportunities they are able to offer.”


    [linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucascervigni” connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”Lucas Cervigni (Lucce)”] is Managing Director – AGENTIC GROUP UK

     
  • user 9:35 pm on August 24, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Brexit,   

    Is Brexit Good Or Bad News For UK Fintech? 

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    I found a relaxing holiday away from Europe a great opportunity to think about the impact of the UK leaving the EU on the industry I’ve dedicated most of my career to. As a European based in London, the events leading to have left me amused and irritated in equal measure. As long-term practitioner in , I am mostly worried about understanding their impact on my industry.

    I s Bre xit good or bad news for UK FinTech?

    Historically the emergence of London as a global financial services (and more recently FinTech) hub as been due to four fundamental factors:

    • Access: Easy access to a market the size of a continent with a shared set of rules and regulations
    • Regulation: Engagement with forward-thinking regulators that could cover both the UK and the EU
    • Talent: The availability of skilled, flexible and motivated people
    • Capital: The availability of money — be it angel, venture, PE or corporate — to back new ideas

    The two main tenets of the Brexit “movement”: 1) the decoupling of UK regulation from Brussels rules and 2) a stop to the free movement of people within the EU will both affect the state of Fintech in the UK.

    Access

    London is arguably the premier global financial centre. In a hugely globalised world, financial centres operate as primary access points to very large markets regulated by similar legal frameworks. New York is the access point to the US economy with 319m people with a $16.2T GDP, Hong Kong provides access to Chinese market of 1.4B people with a $8.5T GDP while London before the split was the access point to the EU with 508m people with a $17.2T GDP.

    Access to the rest of the EU is based on the acceptance of shared rules, policies and regulations, a process called “Passporting”. Should the UK wish to pursue a separate regulatory regime, EU Passporting in its current form will cease. Making London the access point to a market of 64m people with a $2.8T GDP — still sizeable but not nearly as large as what it is today.

     

    In the meantime, the EU will undoubtedly continue on its cross-Europe harmonising drive, supperted by initiatives like the Single Digital Market programme, making it even more desirable for start-ups, FinTech and otherwise, to be located in an EU country. Both Paris and Berlin have already started positioning themselves as an ideal alternative to London.

    Brexit will make access to the EU market more complex.

    Talent

    Post Brexit, businesses planning to serve EU countries will probably no longer see London as the natural choice for their first foray into Europe. English, a strong legal system and a good quality of life for expats may no longer be enough to make London the natural choice if access to rest of the continent is curtailed. Large corporates will begin to consider Dublin, Paris, Barcelona and Berlin more readily than before, depriving the UK from the talent pool that global players develop in the markets they settle in.

    The European “Right to Move” has enabled foreign firms based in the UK to easily hire talented individuals from a pool of over 500m people. As these people got hired, they improved the quality of the already outstanding UK workforce, creating more interesting jobs that in turn attract more talented people. This process has become a virtuous circle making London one of the most dynamic workplaces in the world. Large global finance, consulting and tech firms have contributed and benefitted from this talent pool. A quick look at the backgrounds of founders and key people in UK FinTech start-ups reveals that a large number of them began their careers at large firms Goldman, City, McKinsey, PayPal and Google.

    The current regulatory complexity and costs of hiring non-EU talent would be extended to EU citizens. No matter how streamlined this process will become it will have an impact on the talent pool. This will be an issue as qualified domestic talent will not be enough to satisfy demand — at least in the short term. Parliament forecasts that between 2013 and 2017 the UK will need to find 745,000 workers with digital skills.

    All in all Brexit will make finding talent harder.

    Regulation

    One of the reasons the digital revolution has hit financial services so late is the weight of regulation. The UK regulators are unusually progressive and keen supporters of innovation. The recent introduction of Project Innovate with its Innovation Hub and the Regulatory Sandbox by the Financial Conduct Authority is a great example of this mind-set. Firms based in the UK benefit from being regulated by a forward-thinking regulator with oversight that stretches across the EU.

    Without regulatory “Passporting”, a UK FinTech firm with EU ambitions, would have to open subsidiaries or relocate to an EU country. These additional costs and complexity will inevitably lead to slower growth, need for more capital and eventually difficulty in attracting investment at the valuations of the pre-Brexit days.

    Brexit will make it harder for UK based firms to serve Europe.

    Investors

    In 2015 the UK was the clear EU leader in FinTech investment. In the period between 2010 and 2015 the UK Fintech firms received $5.4B investment with the rest of Europe accounting for only $4.4B. London is a leading location for entrepreneurs seeking venture funding. Brexit could impact this in several ways:

    Firstly, dealing with multiple regulators will lead to reduced valuations. Business will have the to choose to either be regulated both in the UK and in the EU — with more costs or focus on the UK only with reduced revenues — either way their costs will increase.

    Secondly, if business will have to deal with a tighter talent pool they will either grow slower or have to pay more for staff. Again valuations will be impacted.

    Lastly, if Brexit results in less financial services firms being based in the UK, access to capital will inevitably be impacted, especially for early stage and Angel investors. All said, as some start-ups will relocate to Europe those that remain in the UK may find less competition.

    Brexit will make it harder for start-ups to find investors and to achieve the valuations they could expect in the past.

    What Brexit will eventually look like is not yet clear. Politicians are aiming to negotiate a deal for the UK that will retain all or most of the benefits associated with EU membership, while giving up many of the responsibilities.The extent of their success in achieving this will determine the effect of Brexit on the UK FinTech industry.

    All things considered it would seem unlikely that the role of London as Europe’s financial and tech hub will not be diminished. Especially as several other cities are already positioning themselves to take on the role.

    At this stage all we can do is cross our fingers and hope for the best.


    [linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/aehatami” connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”Alessandro Hatami”] is Founder at The Pacemakers and this article was originally published on linkedin.

     

     
  • user 12:18 am on July 13, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Brexit, Crown, FemTechLeaders, , , Retain,   

    FemTechLeaders on Brexit: Can London Retain Its Fintech Crown? 

    reached out to its UK members for their reaction to the vote, and their take on how it would impact the financial services and industries in the short and long term. Here are some of the observations, predictions, and opinions they shared. One interesting thing to note isRead More
    Bank Innovation

     
  • user 12:18 am on July 5, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , 26, , Brexit, , , FintechGenome, , , , , recruiting, ,   

    Wrap of Week #26: Daily Fintech Index, Brexit, Fintech recruiting, ASX IPOs, Life insurance & the FintechGenome 

    The 2 year anniversary of was celebrated with the&;launch of a P2P&160;Knowledge network, the Fintech Genome (ala genetics). Join, engage, interact on the P2P Fintech Knowledge network, by clicking here. We extended an invitation to the growing Fintech community and explained the concept in &;Help us decode the Fintech Genome&;. This was done&;Read more of : Daily Fintech , , Fintech , ASX , &; the&160;
    Bank Innovation

     
  • user 6:59 pm on July 4, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Brexit, , Halt, , ,   

    What Betterment’s Trading Halt After Brexit Teaches About Robo Advisors 

    Questions over arose Betterment briefly halted after .
    FinTech – Finance Magnates | Financial and business news

     
  • user 12:58 pm on July 4, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Brexit, , , , Opinion, tragedy   

    Opinion: Brexit is a tragedy, but it could be the making of UK Fintech 

    fintech-3 This is a guest post by DueDil CEO and Co-founder Damian Kimmelman Let there be no doubt &; is a . Instead of taking on challenges with its European partners, Britain is taking precisely the wrong course, injecting needless uncertainty and negativity into the economy. Tech will particularly suffer. The UK&;s start-up scene, nurtured by international venture capital… Read More


    fintech techcrunch

     
  • user 11:36 am on July 4, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Brexit, , , Envisions, , , , Revote,   

    Political Party Envisions How Blockchain Could Enable Brexit Revote 

    In an effort to make democracy more like , Australia’s Flux is seeking to harness the power of governance.
    fintech techcrunch

     
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