The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has entered into an agreement with eight members of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) to establish a financial technology (Fintech) cooperation framework (Notes 1 & 2).
The CSA members who are signatories of the agreement are: Ontario Securities Commission; Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec); British Columbia Securities Commission; Alberta Securities Commission; Financial and Consumer Affairs Authorities of Saskatchewan; Manitoba Securities Commission; Financial and Consumer Services Commission (New Brunswick); and Nova Scotia Securities Commission.
Under the agreement, the SFC and these CSA members will cooperate on information sharing and referrals between their innovation functions (Note 3).
“This agreement reflects the SFC’s continuing focus on strengthening regulatory cooperation with its counterparts and facilitating innovation in financial services,” said Mr Ashley Alder, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to working closely with these members of the CSA in sharing experiences and information with a view to supporting innovative firms’ communications with regulators globally.”
“We are particularly proud to partner with the SFC, which plays a central role in the development of a fair, efficient and transparent Fintech industry,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “Thanks to this collaboration, registered innovative firms based in our respective jurisdictions will have the opportunity to operate in growing regulated markets.”
The signing of this agreement follows the launch of the SFC’s Fintech Contact Point in March 2016 and the CSA’s Regulatory Sandbox in February 2017 (Notes 4 & 5).
Notes:
- The Canadian Securities Administrators is an umbrella organisation of Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators.
- The cooperation agreement, signed on 30 June 2021, is available on the SFC website.
- Under the agreement, innovation function means the dedicated function established by an authority to support innovation in financial services in their respective markets.
- The SFC established its Fintech Contact Point in March 2016 to enhance communication with businesses involved in the development and application of Fintech in Hong Kong. The purpose of the Fintech Contact Point is to facilitate the Fintech community’s understanding of the current regulatory regime and to enable the SFC to stay abreast of the development of Fintech in Hong Kong.
- In July 2018, the CSA launched a Regulatory Sandbox to support businesses seeking to offer innovative products, services and applications. The objective of the initiative is to facilitate the ability of those businesses to use innovate products, services and applications across Canada while ensuring appropriate investor protection.
