Japan and Australia Establish FinTech Co-operation Framework

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by Polina Chernykh · 3 min read
Japan and Australia Establish FinTech Co-operation Framework
Nicole Frank / Flickr.com

The countries have announced a collaboration agreement to support promising fintech businesses and to share information about regulatory changes and economic developments.

The Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have developed a fintech co-operation framework to fuel innovation in the financial services industries in Australia and Japan.

The agreement allows the JFSA and ASIC to exchange information and facilitate entry for financial technology companies into each other’s markets. The organizations will be able to refer innovative fintech firms to each other for advice and support via the JFSA’s FinTech Support Desk and ASIC’s Innovation Hub.

ASIC opened its innovation center two years ago to help fintech firms to better understand the regulatory framework and to monitor latest developments in the fintech industry. The deal will provide an access to the important market for Australian businesses. Japan is the globe’s leader in terms of technological developments and is the country with the third largest economy in the world.

“We are delighted to establish this Co-operation Framework with ASIC,” said Shunsuke Shirakawa, JFSA Vice Commissioner for International Affairs. “ASIC is one of the leading FinTech regulators that actively promote FinTech by taking progressive actions including setup of the Innovation Hub. We believe that this Framework further strengthens our relationship and facilitates our co-operation in further developing our respective markets.”

The new partnership comes just a few months after the JFSA signed a similar deal with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).  The agreement will make it easier for fintech firms to operate in each other’s countries and will contribute to the strong financial and economic cooperation between Japan and Singapore.

The co-operation agreement is part of Japan’s strategy to encourage the growth of the fintech sector in the country. The JFSA has already modified the legal system to simplify the process of investment in financial IT companies and has developed a legal framework for digital currencies and Open API.

Meantime, Australia has been actively supporting the fintech sector as well. In July, the Australian government will remove double taxation on virtual currencies, adopt policies that fuel fintech growth, and introduce a regulatory sandbox for the financial services industry.

Last month, regulatory authorities in Hong Kong and the UK signed an agreement to drive collaboration in support of financial technology innovation in both countries. The UK continues to be the world’s major fintech hub and according to the annual FinTech50 list of European fintech companies, the majority of leading businesses are based in the UK.

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