ASIC inks fintech deal with Abu Dhabi

In a statement yesterday, ASIC said the Middle East and North Africa are currently poised for a fintech boom, with several cities taking steps to establish themselves as fintech hubs.

The deal means Australian fintech businesses wishing to operate in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) will now have a simple pathway for engaging with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, and vice versa.

Similar to the other fintech co-operation agreements ASIC has entered into, this agreement will enable the FSRA and ASIC to refer innovative fintech businesses to each other for advice and support via ASIC’s Innovation Hub and its ADGM equivalent, the Regulatory Laboratory known as ‘RegLab’.

The agreement also provides a framework for information sharing between the two regulators, which will enable ASIC to keep abreast of regulatory and relevant economic or commercial developments in the ADGM and to use this to inform Australia’s regulatory approach.

Signing the agreement, ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft said, "Fintech developments are not confined by national borders. Each country and region has a different experience with fintech, and there is much we can learn from engaging with one another.”