Recently, Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori, governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), spoke at the Middle East Banking Forum to address the intersection between banking and technology. In order to ensure the UAE will remain internationally competitive, the governor announced the Central Bank of the UAE is going to establish a FinTech Office, in partnership with national authorities, to facilitate innovation in the banking sector.
"Creating and maintaining a sustainable and diversified economy is an important pillar in the UAE’s long-term vision," said Al Mansoori. "A strong and diverse economy requires a robust and resilient banking system, coupled with efficient financial intermediation and effective oversight." Al Mansoori said during his address the aim of the new FinTech Office will be to establish the Central Bank as a "coordinating authority" and author of " prudential and market conduct regulatory requirements."
As such, it will enable and facilitate fintech activities in the UAE. "We have developed a FinTech Strategy and Roadmap to help build the FinTech ecosystem in the UAE," he said. "The road map has five key pillars." According to a transcript of the speech, the pillars are:
- "Research, advice, and the application of FinTech solutions to address the needs of the banking sector."
- "Regulatory interface between market participants and regulatory functions of the Central Bank."
- An "exchange of FinTech ideas and the facilitation of joint projects among key authorities and stakeholders."
- "Meeting the growing needs of FinTech in the UAE."
- "Building a partnership model with key cross-border regulatory authorities and stakeholders."
"With the right balance between innovation and risk, the Central Bank is confident that the UAE banking sector and economy will benefit significantly from financial innovation and technology," he added.
From Twitter
Natalie Black @natalieblackuk
3/4 adults in SE Asia have insufficient access to financial services--that’s changing v.quickly. #fintech services expected to generate $38bn+ of annual revenue by 2025 ($11bn today). That’s why solutions developed here are being replicated elsewhere...
Questions Around China's Huawei Partnership Include Anticipated Digital Currency
Chinese telecommunications whale Huawei has penned an agreement with the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), according to a report from TechNode. The agreement between the communications giant and China's central bank comes on the heels of recent reports China is developing its own digital currency, although it is unclear how this agreement will impact the nation's cryptocurrency plans. Mu Changchun, who has pushed for a Chinese digital fiat currency, heads the institute.
Huawei is among the first big technology players the Digital Currency Research Institute announced, publicly, it will engage in a partnership, according to the TechNode article. Huawei actively invests in blockchain and recently has been looking into applications in areas like "finance, public services, and transportation."
