Australian and Kenyan regulators join forces to drive fintech innovation

The Capital Markets Authority of Kenya (CMA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have signed a Co-operation Agreement in order to support fintech regulations and promote innovation in financial services in their respective markets.

The agreement, which was signed during the Board meeting of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in Honk Kong, creates a framework for co-operation between CMA and ASIC to expand space of innovation in financial services. Both the parties have agreed to share information in their respective markets including emerging market trends and regulatory issues.

“We are committed to facilitating innovation in financial services, leveraging Kenya’s positioning in the region as an innovation center. This, however, calls for us to assess lessons learned and to compare strategies to balance innovation and regulation with our peer regulators,” Paul Muthaura, Chief Executive, CMA said in a press release. “ASIC has developed an Innovation Hub and we are keen to share best practices in terms of how to address regulatory issues pertaining to innovation in financial services.”

Greg Medcraft, Chairman of ASIC mentioned that this agreement will hopefully help to break down barriers to enter both in Australia and Kenya.

“We are excited to be working more closely with CMA. It operates in a jurisdiction that has seen significant fintech innovation growth. Innovation in financial services isn’t confined by national borders,” Medcraft stated. “Most recently we have consulted on the establishment of a Regulatory Sandbox that proposes an environment to allow start-ups to test concepts without a license – we are currently considering the results of that consultation.”