The Global Covid-19 FinTech Regulatory Rapid Assessment Study with the support of This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: Preprint not peer reviewed Please cite this study as World Bank and CCAF (2020) The Global Covid-19 FinTech Regulatory Rapid Assessment Report, World Bank Group and the University of Cambridge This study was partially funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Cambridge Alternative Finance Collaboration Network (CAFCN) Programme implemented by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: Preprint not peer reviewed Table of Contents Forewords .5 Research Team .8 Acronyms .9 Glossary .10 Executive Summary .11 1. Introduction and research motivation .16 2. Study methodology and sample .19 2.1 Surveyadministrationandfieldwork .19 2.1.1 Samplebygeographyandincomeclassification . 20 3. FinTech Market Developments .23 3.1 TheimpactofCovid-19onfinancialservicesandFinTech . 23 3.1.1 TheimpactofCovid-19ontheprovisionoffinancialservicesingeneral . 23 3.1.2 ChangesinFinTechdevelopmentinlightofCovid-19 . 23 3.2 FinTechregulatorychallengesandopportunities:theimpactofCovid-19 . 25 3.2.1 TheprioritizationofFinTechinlightofCovid-19 . 25 3.2.2 FinTechandregulatoryobjectivesinlightofCovid-19 . 27 3.2.3 FinTech-relatedrisksinlightofCovid-19 . 28 3.2.4 Regulatorsorganizationalpreparednessandresilience . 29 4. The Covid-19 Regulatory Response .33 4.1 MeasuresaffectingDigitalFinancialServicesandFinTechproviders. 33 4.1.1 KnowYourCustomer/Anti-MoneyLaundering/Digitalidentity . 33 4.1.2 EconomicRelief . 34 4.1.3 BusinessContinuityPlanning . 35 4.1.4 Cybersecurity . 35 4.1.5 Moredigitalapproachtoregulation . 35 4.2 MeasuresaffectingspecificFinTechsectors . 36 4.3 FinTechandCovid-19ReliefEfforts . 40 4.4 InternalchallengestodevelopingregulatoryresponsestoFinTechinlightofCovid-19 .42 4.5 FinTechRegulatorySupportandAssistanceinlightofCovid-19 . 45 4.5.1 FinTechPolicyandregulation . 46 4.5.2 RegulatorsOperationalResilience/Businesscontinuity .47 4.5.3 RegulatoryInnovationInitiatives .47 4.6 MappingRegulatoryBenchmarkingPatterns . 48 This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: Preprint not peer reviewed 5. Covid-19 and Regulatory Innovation Initiatives .51 5.1 TheimpactofCovid-19onRegulatoryInnovationInitiatives .51 5.1.1 TheimpactofCovid-19oninnovationoffices . 53 5.1.2 TheimpactofCovid-19onregulatorysandboxes . 54 5.1.3 TheimpactofCovid-19onRegTech/SupTechinitiatives . 57 5.1.4 TheimpactofCovid-19ondigitalinfrastructureinitiatives . 60 5.2 Covid-19andthechallengesforregulatoryinnovationinitiatives .61 6. Lessons learned and future considerations . 65 6.1 Shorttermconsiderations . 65 6.2 Longertermconsiderations . 68 Annexes .71 Annex1:Listofsurveyrespondentsbyjurisdiction .71 Endnotes .75 This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: Preprint not peer reviewed Forewords 5 Forewords TheimmensechallengeofCovid-19extendsacrossallsectorsoftheglobaleconomy,andresponseto ithasrequiredflexibilityandinnovationbyprivatesectorfirmsandbypublicsectorofficialsincountries aroundtheworld.Thisbeenparticularlyevidentinthefinancialsector,wheredigitalfinancialservices (DFS)andfintechhaveexpandedtofacilitatecontinuedtransactionsatarms-length.Inmanycases, financialregulatorshavetakenstepstosupporttheshifttodigitalchannels,includingwaivingfees temporarilyondigitalpayments,increasinglimitsfordigitaltransfersandallowingforelectronicknow- your-customer(e-KYC)inlieuofin-personidentityverification.Digitalchannelshavebeenleveraged toquicklyandefficientlydeliverCovid-19-relatedreliefpaymentstobothindividualsandfirms.Digital saving,lendingandinvestingproductsandserviceshavealsoenabledconsumerstomanagetheir financiallivesvirtually,helpingtoreducetheneedforin-personinteraction. Theexpansionofdigitalfinancialservicesstartedwellbeforethepandemic.Itsdevelopmenthas beenwell-documentedbynationalfinancialregulators,theWorldBankandothermultilateralsand industryassociationsoverthepastdecade.GlobalFindexdatashowthatsince2011,approximately 1.2billionpeoplegainedaccesstoformalfinance,withmobilemoneyplayinganimportantrolein increasingfinancialinclusion.Researchhasshownthepositiveimpactofdigitalfinance,includingnew, transformativefintechbusinessmodels.Forexample,inMalaysia,equitycrowdfundingisproviding opportunitiesforwomenandyoungentrepreneurswhonowmakeupanestimated70percentofthe Malaysianfirmsfundedonline.InGhana,mobilemoneyaccountownershipincreasedbynearly200 percentinjust3years(2014-2017)andreachedmorethanathirdofadultsinruralareas.Thiswasdriven bytheentryofmobilenetworkoperators(MNOs)intodigitalpayments.InEthiopia,alternativedataare beingcollectedandanalyzedtosupportlendingtowomenmicroentrepreneurs. Therearealsorisksthataccompanytheshifttodigitalfinanceandfintech,andwhichrequirevigilance onthepartofproviders,regulatorsandconsumers.Theserisksmayincreaseduringanemergency whenpeoplearemorevulnerable,andsupervisionandcompliancesystemsareundergreaterstress. Cybersecurityandoperationalrisks,consumerprotectionrisks,includingfordataprotectionand privacy,andprudentialandmacro-financialrisksmustbeaddressed,justasisthecasefortraditional financialservices.However,thespeedandvolumeofdigitalfinancialtransactionsposechallengesfor regulatorsandrequirenewapproaches,includingexpandeduseofregtechandsuptech,toeffectively andefficientlysuperviseDFSproviders.Byreducinguncertainty,regulatoryinitiatives,suchas innovationofficesandregulatorysandboxes,canalsohelpauthoritiestomanageriskswhilesupporting privatesectorinnovation. TheresearchpresentedinthisreportwasundertakenbytheWorldBankandtheCambridgeCentrefor AlternativeFinanceinordertobetterunderstandtheexperiencesoffinancialregulatorsastheyface theimpactofCOVID-19andincreasedutilizationofdigitalfinancialservicesandfintech.Regulators frommorethan110countriesparticipatedinthisresearch,conductedbetweenJuneandAugust2020. Theysharedtheirinsightsintothechallengestheyfacedandmeasurestheyhaveadoptedtosupport digitalfinanceduringtheCOVID-19emergency.TheresearchshowsthatCOVID-19hasinmanycases acceleratedpoliciesandprogramsthatsupportashifttodigitalfinance.Manyregulatorsinjurisdictions thathadgapsinthelegalorregulatoryframeworkforDFShavetakenstepstosupportdigitalfinance andclosethesegaps.Wehopethefindingshereinwillprovidevaluableandtimelyinformationforthe regulatorswhogenerouslygaveoftheirtimetomakethisreportpossible.Webelievethatitwillhelp stakeholdersinboththeprivateandpublicsectorsadvancedigitalfinancialinclusion,speedrecovery andsupportamoreresilienteconomicsystem. Caroline Freund WorldBankGlobalDirectorforFinance,CompetitivenessandInnovation This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: Preprint not peer reviewed The Global Covid-19 FinTech Regulatory Rapid Assessment Study 6 TheCovid-19pandemicpresentsunprecedentedchallengestotheglobaleconomy,includingthe provisionandregulationofdigitalfinancialservicesandFinTechactivitiesinbothadvancedand emergingmarketanddevelopingeconomies. Howhavecentralbanksandfinancialregulatorsbeencopingwithremoteworking,limitedaccesstoIT infrastructureanddata,theprioritisationofresources,andcoordinationdomesticallyandinternationally amidaglobalpandemic?HavetheyshiftedtheirregulatorystancetowardsFinTech,adaptedtheir regulatoryapproach,revampedtheirsupervisorypracticesand/ordevisedbespokeregulatorymeasures torespondtoboththeopportunitiesandtherisks?Willtheincreasinglydigitisedprovisionoffinancial servicesspurmoreinnovationanddigitalisationbyregulatoryauthorities?Whatkindofsupportand assistanceareregulatoryauthoritiescurrentlyseekingtoembracetheopportunities,andmitigatethe challengesofCovid-19?ThesearesomeofthequestionsthattheWorldBank-CCAFresearchteamset outtoanswerthroughthisGlobal Covid-19 FinTech Regulatory Rapid Assessment Study. Theresearchteamconductedsemi-structuredinterviewsandgatheredofflineresponsesfrom 118financialregulatoryauthoritiesin114jurisdictionsbetweenJuneandAugust2020,with66%of respondentsfromemergingmarketanddevelopingeconomies.Itisthankstotheseregulators generousofferingoftimeandsupportunderextraordinarycircumstancesthatsuchaglobally representativestudywaspossible. Thiscomprehensiveandvaluabledatasetoffersauniqueviewintotheworldofregulatorsasthey observeandrespondtothelatestFinTechmarketdevelopments,assessandmanagerisks,respond tochallenges,andharnessopportunities.Thesector-wideandFinTech-specificregulatorymeasures thattheyhavetakeninlightofCovid-19,andthemostpressinginternalchallenges,areobservable.It ispossibletoseethepaceandscaleofregulatoryinnovationinitiatives,andhowthesehaveevolved sincetheonsetofthepandemic.Manyoftheregulatoryexperiencesandlearningssharedbythese authoritieswillbebeneficialfortheirpeersandtheglobalregulatorycommunitytoreference,emulate andadaptastheirown. AttheCCAF,weverymuchappreciatetheopportunitytoonceagainworkwithcolleaguesattheWorld BankonthesubjectofFinTechandregulationthroughproducingthisstudy.Weareparticularlythankful fortheleadershipofMaheshUttamchandaniandMargaretMillerattheWorldBankGroupsFinance, Competitiveness,andInnovationGlobalPractice.Wearealsogratefulforthefoundationalfunding providedbytheUKForeign,Commonwealthelectronic-KYC(eKYC) LAC LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean MENA MiddleEastandNorthAfrica MNO MobileNetworkOperator MSMEs Micro,SmallandMediumEnterprises NLP NaturalLanguageProcessing OxCGRT OxfordCOVID-19GovernmentResponseTracker QR QuickResponse SSA Sub-SaharanAfrica UNSGSA UNSecretary-GeneralsSpecialAdvocateforInclusiveFinanceforDevelopment This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: Preprint not peer reviewed The Global Covid-19 FinTech Regulatory Rapid Assessment Study 10 Glossary Digital financial services:Financialproductsandservices,includingpayments,transfers, savings,credit,insurance,securities,financialplanningandaccountstatementsthatare deliveredviadigital/electronictechnology,suchase-money,paymentcardsandaregular bankaccount.DFSisabroaderconceptthanFinTechforthepurposesofthisstudy,since itincorporatesbothabroadersetoffinancialactivities,andawidersetofproviders (incorporatingtraditionalfinancialservicesproviders). Digital infrastructure:Digitalinfrastructurereferstotheenablingdigitalstructures,facilities, ecosystemandcapabilitiessurroundingtheprovisionofFinTech/DFS,butcanbemorewidely applicablebeyondfinancialservices.Forthepurposesofthisstudy,thismighttypicallyinclude infrastructurerelatedtoidentity(e.g.digitalidentityinitiatives),dataanalyticsandsharing, creditinformationand/orpaymentsystemsandriskmitigations.Whilethesemaybedirectly orindirectlyrelevantfortheregulationandsupervisionofFinTech/DFS,notallofthesemaybe undertheremitorinfluenceoffinancialregulators. 1 FinTech:FinTechisdefinedasencompassingadvancesintechnologyandchangesinbusiness modelsthathavethepotentialtotransformtheprovisionoffinancialservicesthroughthe developmentofinnovativeinstruments,channelsandsystems.Forthepurposesofthisstudy, FinTechreferstoasetofactivities(whichmaybeeitherregulatedorunregulated,accordingto eachjurisdiction)contributingtotheprovisionoffinancialservicesfacilitatedpredominatelyby entitiesemergingfromoutsideofthetraditionalfinancesystem(suchasthebankingindustry orcapitalmarkets). FinTech Market: Theprovision,transactionandfacilitationoffinancialactivitiesacross emergingverticalsincludingdigitallending(e.g.P2Plending),digitalcapitalraising(e.g. equity-basedcrowdfunding),digitalbanking,digitalsavings,digitalpaymentsandremittances, digitalcustody,InsurTech,WealthTech,cryptoassetexchangesandthesupplyofenterprise technologies,RegTech,alternativedataanalyticsandotherservices. Innovation Office:Adedicatedfunctionwithinaregulatorwhichengageswithandprovides regulatoryclarificationtoinnovativefinancialservicesproviders.Thesemayalsobeknownas InnovationorFinTech“Hubs”. RegTech/SupTech:Forthepurposesofthisstudy,SupTechreferstotheuseofinnovative technologiesby regulatorstotackleregulatoryorsupervisorychallenges.Itisasubsetof RegTech,whichincludesanyuseoftechnologytomatchstructuredandunstructureddatato informationtaxonomiesordecisionrulesthataremeaningfultobothregulatorsandregulated entities,inordertoautomatecomplianceoroversightprocesses.Thetwotermsareused interchangeablyforthisstudygiventheirvaryingusagebyregulators,andthepotentialfor commonlyadopteddefinitions,standardsandprotocols. Regulatory Innovation Initiatives: Abroadsetofactivitiescarriedoutbyregulatorstoinnovate regulatoryandsupervisoryfunctions,processes,organizationsandapplications,whichoften butnotnecessarilyinvolvetheuseoftechnologicalsolutions. Regulatory Sandbox:Formalregulatoryprogrammesthatallowmarketparticipantstotestnew financialservicesormodelswithlivecustomers,subjecttocertainsafeguardsandoversight. This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: Preprint not peer reviewed ExecutiveSummary 11 Executive Summary Thisglobalstudyseekstoassesshowcentralbanksandotherfinancialregulatorsare respondingtothechallengesofCovid-19inregulatingandsupervisingFinTechactivities andotherformsofDigitalFinancialServices(DFS).ItisajointproductoftheWorldBankand theCambridgeCentreforAlternativeFinance(CCAF)attheUniversityofCambridgeJudge BusinessSchool. FinTechandotherformsofDFScanplayavitalroleinextendingthereachandwideningthe accessoffinancialservices.Theyhavealreadyhelpedtobringaccesstofinancialservicesto millionsofconsumersandMSMEs(Micro,SmallandMediumEnterprises)aroundtheworld. TheCovid-19pandemichasseverelyimpactedtheglobaleconomy,includingFinTechactivities aswellastheirregulationandsupervision. BetweenJuneandAugust2020,thejointWorldBankandCCAFresearchteamsurveyed118 centralbanksandotherfinancialregulatoryauthoritiesfrom114jurisdictions.66%ofsurveyed regulatorsarefromemergingmarketanddevelopingeconomies.Thisrepresentsoneof thelargestempiricalstudiestodateontheimpactofCovid-19regardingtheregulationand supervisionofFinTech,aswellasrelatedregulatoryinnovationinitiatives. ThestudyfindsthatregulatorsarerespondingtothechallengesofCovid-19andincreasing digitalizationoffinancialservicesbytakingbothsector-wideand,toalesserextent,FinTech- specificregulatorymeasures,aswellasacceleratingthepaceofregulatoryinnovation initiatives. The observed impact of Covid-19 on FinTech markets Regulators observed strong increases in the use or offering of many FinTech products and servicessincetheoutbreakofthepandemic,inparticulardigital payments and remittances(60%ofrespondentsreportinganincrease),digitalbanks(22%),anddigital savingsordeposits(19%).RespondentsinjurisdictionswithmorestringentCovid-19 containmentandclosuremeasuresaremorelikelytohavereportedanincreaseindigital paymentsandremittancesservices. Regulators in emerging market and developing economie