EMEA: taming the Wild West Anna Biala, Peter Chapman, Jack Hardman and Jennifer Mbaluto from Clifford Chance’s global fintech group take a bird’s eye view of fintech developments across EMEA and how regulators are responding
Kenya: lost in transit John Syekei, Eddah Kiai and Rose Njeru from Bowmans analyse the security and data handling issues that impact fintech activity in Kenya
Poland: open banking – when will it start? Marcin Olechowski and Wojciech Iwański of Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak dive into the legal uncertainty surrounding the launch date for open banking in Poland
South Africa: stepping up a gear Bowmans' David Geral, Bright Tibane, Yehuda Rabinowitz and Wandile Mantanga look at South Africa's newly ramped-up approach to cryptoassets
Switzerland: a licence for the future? Daniel Flühmann and Peter Hsu of Bär & Karrer unwrap the new Swiss fintech licence and test its implications at a macro and micro level
Switzerland: the dawn of crypto-linked ETPs Daniel Haeberli and Benjamin Leisinger, partners at Homburger, look at how the cryptoasset class has been thrown open to institutional investors
Switzerland: getting to grips with blockchain Thomas Müller and Hugh Reeves of Walder Wyss explore blockchain and the new more stringent approach being taken by Swiss regulators
Uganda: forget the naysayers Brian Kalule and Brian Manyire of Bowmans take a look at the Ugandan fintech environment how fintech may drive more business through traditional banks
UK: AI and risk for financial institutions Kate Scott of Clifford Chance considers the risks that AI use could expose financial institutions to, and what steps can be taken to avoid getting burnt
APAC’s catapult into the digital economy Urszula McCormack of King & Wood Mallesons introduces the 2019 Asia-Pacific Fintech Special Focus with a region-wide look at trends
Hong Kong SAR: towards a new ecosystem Hong Kong SAR has made significant efforts to remain a pioneering testing ground for fintech in the APAC region. King & Wood Mallesons' Urszula McCormack examines the market’s recent developments
Southeast Asia: where disruption meets regulation Jake Robson, Gordon Milner and Nick Davies from Morrison & Foerster discuss cross-border regulatory challenges and how fintechs can plot a path of compliance
South Korea: unpacking the sandbox Chan Sik Ahn, Dongjin Lee and Sunmin Choi from HMP Law evaluate Korea’s new regulatory sandbox and the SAAFI law that underpins it
South Korea: operating in a void Joon Young Kim, Seung Jae Yoo and Bomi Chen of Kim & Chang provide a detailed guide on cryptocurrency compliance where cryptocurrencies are not formally recognised in regulation
South Korea: uncertain crypto-prospects Jongsoo Yoon and Gidon Nam from Lee & Ko look at the evolution of cryptoassets in Korea and future prospects for asset-backed tokenisation
South Korea: a step too far? Soonghee Lee, Bo Hyun Lee and Jae Ryun Cho of Yoon & Yang discuss the consequences of imposing costly AML and CDD obligations on fintech companies
Japan: financial instruments businesses Akimoto Kawamura of Atsumi & Sakai examines Japan’s legal registration requirements for high frequency traders, investment managers and investment advisors that use fintech in Japan
Switzerland: new framework for cryptoassets In March 2019, the Swiss federal government published a draft law on distributed ledger technology (DLT Draft Law). The proposed rules aim to improve the legal framework for cryptoassets and DLT-based applications. Stefan Kramer and Urs Meier of Homburger take a look
Japan: a fresh dose of promotion Atsumi & Sakai partners Yuri Suzuki, Takafumi Ochiai, Ryosuke Oue, Naoki Kanehisa and Kenichi Tanizaki examine Japan’s regulatory repositioning on fintech in the wake of crypto- thefts
Japan: sandbox reform Japan’s regulatory sandbox was launched in June 2018 and is a cornerstone of the country’s efforts to promote fintech. Ryosuke Oue of Atsumi & Sakai reviews the progress so far
Japan: revamping data rules for a fintech world In March 2019, the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) proposed a bill that may loosen data sharing rules for fintech and insurtech subsidiaries. Naoki Kanehisa of Atsumi & Sakai investigates
Japan: green light for information banking Japan’s regulatory regime is keeping pace with the growing interest in information banking. Recent amendments will enhance customer experience, writes Kenichi Tanizaki of Atsumi & Sakai
Japan: stablecoins and their promises Stablecoins are full of promise and offer answers to many of the shortcomings of dominant but volatile virtual currencies, writes Ryosuke Oue of Atsumi & Sakai
Japan: Redefining the playing field In 2019 the diet passed a bill that proposes to overhaul parts of the cryptoasset regulatory framework and revisit definitions of key terms, such as ‘virtual currency’. Takafumi Ochiai of Atsumi & Sakai investigates
Japan: Financial institutions and fintechs must prioritise KYC, AML and CFT KYC, AML and CFT will take centre stage again in Japan as legal changes strive to strengthen safeguards, writes Takafumi Ochiai of Atsumi & Sakai
Japan: Cryptoasset businesses to face tougher registration requirements Japan has pushed through important reforms to the regulatory framework for cryptoasset businesses which will force existing market players to re-register within six months. Akimoto Kawamura of Atsumi & Sakai takes a look
Japan: 2020 strategy paper promises fintech boost Naoki Kanehisa of Atsumi & Sakai gives the inside track on the Financial Services Agency of Japan’s policy priorities for 2020 and its hopes for digitalisation
Fintech market enters a new stage of maturity Fintech is gearing up, shifting away from the start-up world to mature big ticket transactions. Richard Woods, Clive Cunningham and Wendy Saunders of Herbert Smith Freehills review macro-developments in Europe
Slovenia’s fintech ambitions risk falling short for lack of regulation Uroš Čop of Miro Senica overviews the regulatory environment for fintechs in Slovenia, a jurisdiction that has been touted as a European fintech hub
DLT and blockchain framework is set for change A new set of rules applicable to DLT and blockchain-related business activities could come into force by 2021. Daniel Haeberli and Urs Meier of Homburger dig into key aspects of the existing and potential future Swiss regulatory framework
Will public and private payment systems coexist? Wendy Saunders, Clive Cunningham and Richard Woods of Herbert Smith Freehills explore stablecoins and how they may influence fintech regulation
