Technological change is a constant process bringing new inventions and innovations to the market that can enhance, converge with, or, at times, disrupt existing processes.
Experience has shown that societies that embrace technological change find themselves best placed to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. Opportunities that can deliver growth, productivity and employment.
We are in the midst of a phase of industrial development driven by advances in how we use information and that are leading to greater synergies and systems integration. In the digital space, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, data analytics and computing power have led to new waves of innovation in the field of financial technology, or “fintech.”
Fintech is already transforming the financial services industry worldwide whether in the form of cashless transactions between friends and family or apps that automatically invest savings at the best rate. In short, it provides customers with better services, more choice and lower costs.
For business, fintech is facilitating access to new credit as peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding and other methods directly linking savers and businesses.
The UK is determined to stay at the forefront of the fintech revolution. Using the foundation of the world’s leading business environment, human capital and infrastructure for financial services (“The Global Financial Centres Index,” Sept. 22), we aim to take advantage of the opportunities at home and abroad.
The UK’s fintech sector generated almost ￡7 billion (US$9.19 billion) in revenue last year and employs 60,000 people. There are about 1,600 dedicated fintech firms in the UK concentrated primarily in online investment, consumer finance lending and digital banking.
We aim to build on this by bringing together investors, business and regulators to find new ways to encourage innovation in the interests of consumers. Examples include the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Project Innovate, which encourages innovation in the interest of consumers, and the Bank of England’s FinTech Accelerator.
The FCA’s Project Innovate is relevant to Taiwan given the draft legislation under consideration by the Legislative Yuan to establish a regulatory sandbox. Taiwan is seeking to join a growing number of dynamic Asian financial centers that have adopted the FCA’s policy approach, including Hong Kong and Singapore.
The sandbox model seeks to reduce the time and cost of getting innovative ideas to the market, enabling greater access to finance for innovators while still ensuring appropriate consumer safeguards.
In Taiwan, the financial services sector has outperformed the wider economy with 3.71 percent growth over the past five years. Developing Taiwan’s fintech potential will not only provide Taiwan with further high-skilled employment opportunities, but will also help move toward the long-term goal of a world-class Taiwanese software industry.
In the UK, using the regulatory sandbox has provided a space for innovators to test new ideas with real customers. Open to both authorized and unauthorized businesses and technology providers, it oversees trials using a customized regulator environment for each pilot — including safeguards for consumers.
So far 42 firms have made use of the sandbox enabling them to develop their customer base while avoiding the initial entry costs, in terms of standard regulatory compliance, that might have prevented them from getting off the ground.
Entry is for a time-limited period and is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The 18 firms that entered the UK sandbox in the first wave after July last year are expected to take their business propositions forward outside of the sandbox.
The FCA is working with these firms to ensure that they have the necessary regulatory permissions from their home nations to conduct their operations as a full part of the UK financial services industry offering new solutions in e-payments, asset management and customer authentication applications, among many others.
The regulatory sandbox is a key strand of Project Innovate, which also includes measures to facilitate collaboration around new technologies that support better regulation, providing tailored support to firms and giving feedback to firms developing automated advice models. The overall Project Innovate initiative is aimed at promoting innovation in the interest of customers.
As Taiwan continues to consider its own draft sandbox regulation, the UK’s experience has shown the importance of bringing together all relevant stakeholders in the administration, legislature, business community and wider society to promote innovation and competition in the interests of consumers.
International firms, including those from the UK, also have something to offer and are ready to enter the Taiwanese market and bring their new products to a financial services center with huge potential.
Taiwan is embarking on an exciting journey to realize its fintech potential. The UK applauds the steps Taiwan has taken to encourage fintech innovation and stand ready to bring it skills, experience and expertise to bear to make your endeavor a success.
Catherine Nettleton is the British representative to Taiwan.
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big
RSS