FCA Regulation for FinTech Firms

Outline & Objectives

This practical course will help identify where FCA regulation may impact your business model, understand the relevant regulatory requirements where it does and position your firm positively with the FCA, whether for applications, a regulatory sandbox or full authorisation.

The requirements of being FCA regulated can often be a culture shock and lead to unnecessary, costly and damaging interventions. Many FinTech firms do not understand the nature and consequences of the “regulatory perimeter” and the consequences for even an inadvertent breach --- neither the FCA or the law recognise the approach that it is “better to seek forgiveness than permission” --- and fail to appreciate how easy it is to be in criminal breach of the Financial Services and Markets Act.

Making use of CASE STUDIES and SYNDICATE EXERCISES, this practical course will help founders, senior staff and advisers of FinTech firms understand the boundaries of regulated and unregulated activity, the concerns and powers of the FCA, the various routes to conducting regulated business, creating successful sandbox and regulatory authorisation applications and how to navigate the cultural differences between the FCA’s governance requirements and tech practices such as “agile” and the practical issues these throw up.

Attending will help you:

• Understand the scope and nature of FCA regulation and how it applies to FinTech firms
• Know the consequences of unauthorised and (importantly) inappropriately conducted regulated activity and
• Avoid being inadvertently in criminal breach of the Financial Services and Markets Act
• Navigate the culture clash between regulatory attitudes and “better to seek forgiveness than permission”
• Determine which routes to conducting authorised business
• are best for your firm (direct authorisation or exempted routes)
• Create an effective FCA authorisation application
• Develop a better pitch for a regulatory sandbox
• Appreciate the gap between FCA corporate governance and product development requirements and “agile” development
• Explore how the FCA concepts of “Treating Customers Fairly” and “Conduct Risk” apply in a FinTech context

Course Agenda

Topics covered may include but are not limited to:

• The scope and nature of FCA regulation
• Avoiding breaches pre and post authorisation
• Navigating the culture clash
• Routes to conducting business
• Creating an effective application for authorisation
• Developing your sandbox pitch
• Corporate governance vs “agile”
• Treating Customers Fairly and Conduct Risk