Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

BVI FSC to invite applications for fintech "sandbox"

BVI FSC to invite applications for fintech "sandbox"

“Digitalisation is our ticket,” Jennifer Potter-Questelles, deputy managing director of corporate services at the Financial Services Commission, said last week during the FSC’s annual Meet the Regulator forum.

To help prove it, the commission plans to invite applications to the Virgin Islands’ new “sandbox” for financial technology, providing a testing environment that allows companies to experiment with new ideas within the VI’s regulatory framework without the full weight of the usual rules.

In the process, industry stakeholders hope the territory will attract new companies interested in the fast-growing “fintech” space.

“Integrity and sustainability of the industry are dependent on all the collective parts and more importantly on our connections to each other,” Ms. Potter-Questelles told the roughly 130 industry practitioners gathered at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College for the July 3 forum.

“Weak links, whether large or small, can have significant effect and impact. Sometimes size doesn’t matter, but strength always does. We need every connection to be strong.”

New sandbox

Kishelle Blaize‐Cameron, deputy director in the FSC’s Investment Business Division, explained how the regulatory regime would work.

Specific provisions of the regulatory legislation and regulatory code would be “disapplied” to participants in the sandbox, who can apply beginning in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to Ms. Blaize-Cameron.

These participants — which may include VI-registered and foreign companies — must include a detailed testing proposal and an exit strategy, meaning the company must cease operations after a certain date, she explained.

To qualify, companies must prove that they are “fit and proper,” demonstrating competence, integrity and financial soundness, according to Ms. Blaize-Cameron. In her presentation, she explained that they would be limited to a maximum number of clients, pay a fee, and be required to submit periodic progress reports.

Sandbox history

Since the rise of fintech, calls for a sandbox regime in the VI have been floated. The plan for the regime surfaced in Governor Gus Jaspert’s Speech from the Throne in March 2018, when he said the then-National Democratic Party-led government pledged to “use legislative measures to establish a regulatory sandbox regime to help develop new financial services product legislation.”

The same month, Ayanna Hull, a counsel at Harneys, said the territory was working on drafting related legislation, which she said would give innovators like cryptocurrency exchanges the opportunity to do trial runs in the territory to see if the VI’s regulations work for them. No legislation was introduced, however.

Kyla Forbes, a corporate communications associate at the FSC, in an email to the Beacon, wrote that “Regulations are to be issued under the Financial Services Commission Act, 2001 to enable and govern the Regulatory Sandbox operations.”

Other jurisdictions that have experimented with sandboxes in an effort to increase fintech innovation include the United Kingdom, Jersey, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Canada and Malaysia, according to a recent white paper by Mirza Manraj at Harneys. Other Commonwealth countries have explored the concept as well.

Other presentations

Expanding on the forum’s digital focus, Kenneth Baker, deputy managing director of regulation at the FSC, explained how the commission is also digitising its anti-money-laundering processes and amending regulations to accommodate electronic verifications of identity.

Janay Waters and Chelcy Forbes, also from the Investment
Business Division, presented on system improvements to the application portal on mutual funds annual returns.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
×