Wednesday, February 12, 2020/ 11:00AM / By
SEC / Header Image Credit: @SECNigeria
The
Department for International Development, DFID, Financial Conduct Authority,
FCA and the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, have agreed to collaborate
to develop the Fintech space in Nigeria.
Speaking
when she received officials of both organizations in Abuja weekend, Acting
Director-General of SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk said the SEC was enthusiastic about the
collaboration as it would encourage responsible use of new technologies and
digital finance in the capital market, influence increased international
participation & cooperation, and also provide investors with more choices
in the Nigerian Capital Market.
She
said the SEC is looking to adopt regulatory and supervisory practices for
orderly development and stability of Fintech, as the Commission will pay close
attention to sustaining confidence and safeguarding the integrity of the
market.
"In
this way, our policies will facilitate the safe entry of new products, activities
and intermediaries. Besides, we will ensure that regulation does not stand in
the way of innovation".
She
said While it is clear that FinTech has already made huge inroads into many
aspects of the financial industry, what is perhaps even clearer is that the
surface has barely been scratched in relation to what FinTech can do for us in
the future.
According
to her, "The awareness of customers that their data might be prone to
cyber-attacks could make them lose trust in digital channels until strong
consumer protection frameworks are in place. These frameworks for digital
financial services will be critical in building confidence for consumers.
"We
have come up with ways to monitor the risks that may come up. It's like a
sandbox, but not an enclave. We are building the capacity to train young people
that would be able to drive the process.
"We
hope that this year will be a turning point. We are trying to gather as much
information as we can to be able to contextualize and synthesize regulation in
Nigeria
"Young
people are beginning to get interested in investment and they are doing this
via Fintech, and that is why we are doing all that we can to develop rules
around it so that the risk will be mitigated and it will further develop the
market.
In
his remarks, Senior Adviser, UK DFID, Mr. Richard Sandall, said DFID and FCA
have a partnership to support FCA to step into new jurisdictions to deliver
DFID objectives in certain areas.
He
said, "We are in Nigeria to look at the FinTech environment, regulatory
environment and see if there are ways the Fintech environment can be built.
"We
are very interested in the impacts that Fintech in Nigeria would have in the
UK. We know that Nigeria has FinTech, and the FCA has already established
international networks.
He
said the agreement with FCA is for up to two years and during that time
modalities would be put in place to work with regulators, and that is why they
have come to the SEC.
"We
know the SEC has the enthusiasm for Fintech and we want to help develop it as
much as we can," Sandall added.
Also
speaking, Nigeria Lead, FCA, Mr. Parma Bains, said they have done some work
with the SEC in the past and are very comfortable working with the Commission.
Brains
expressed appreciation to the SEC for the opportunity to collaborate and
expressed the belief that it is the beginning of many collaborative
relationships that will span for the next two years of the project.
"We
are available to provide collaboration and assistance in the area of Fintech,
and we are also open to learn how you regulate the market and some other roles
you perform," Bains added.
On her part, Technical Specialist, FCA Barr Alicia Kedzierski said she was impressed by the depth your research has taken, the fact that you have gone to various jurisdictions to try to find out what is happening is a good step.
"SEC
Nigeria is the first regulator that we have seen that looks into the millennial
and the risks that could lead to long term issues.
"There
has to be balance, regulation as well as ensure that they are not closed out,"
she said.
The
idea behind the UK-Africa Fintech partnership is to connect African
entrepreneurs with British fintech investors and business mentors to access the
finance and advice needed to start and grow their companies. The UK's Financial
Conduct Authority (FCA) will work with its regulatory counterparts in Africa. A
dedicated fund worth up to £2m will support Nigerian start-ups.
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