Hon. Silvio Schembri, the Maltese Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation addressed the FinTech and Digital Innovation Conference on the 27th February 2018. He presented Malta's plans to set up a legal framework for distributed technology service providers, ICOs and businesses providing services in relation to Virtual Currencies.
Malta, leading in the FinTech sphere
The Conference hosted several key regulators and policy makers who discussed Europe’s role and future as a regulator of disruptive technologies. As pointed out by Olli Rehn, former Vice-President of the European Commission (EC), “Europe has the potential to become a leader in the digital transformation of the financial industry. This calls for strong innovation and flourishing of the FinTech sector”.
Malta was one of the few European countries which has decided to face this challenge head-on. As highlighted by Parliamentary Secretary Schembri, “Malta is working to lead in this space and to become a hub for this area of business”. The new legislative framework will not only provide legal certainty for start-ups seeking a blockchain-friendly ecosystem which removes any regulatory risk and fosters growth and innovation, but will also ensure that investor protection, market integrity and financial soundness are achieved.
Read more on Malta's proposed Legal framework
Regulation at European Level
Although the European Union (EU) does not currently regulate disruptive technologies directly, European Commissioner for Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis noted that the EC is monitoring very closely the developments in the field of Fintech. In this respect, the EC shall launch an action plan in the near future which will provide a clear indication on how disruptive technologies can develop in Europe in the context of the EU internal market.
Our Fintech Practice
At Chetcuti Cauchi, we welcome the innovations which the financial services sector is currently undergoing, and seek to provide bespoke solutions to our clients by fusing together traditional legal notions with new technologies.
Should you wish to set up a meeting to discuss how you could be one of the pioneers to explore Malta's potential as a fintech hub, kindly contact us on fsu@cclex.com and we would be happy to call you back.
