Recent research reveals how consumers engage with crypto-assets

The Financial Conduct Authority, the UK's financial regulator/supervisor recently published an interesting report on how consumers behave in relation to crypto-assets: How and why consumers buy cryptoassets. To remind ourselves, crypto-assets are virtual, digital assets used for payment or investment purposes or both. This research fits well into the current EU efforts on regulating fintech services and products. We have reported earlier on the EU Commission's 2018 Action Plan on Fintech within which crypto-assets are of a special concern. More recently we have discussed ESMA's recommendation for a need for tailored regulation for the protection of consumers, buyers of crypto-assets.

The present research is focused on consumer behavior, on how consumers engage with crypto-assets. It is especially interesting to discover the profile of an 'average' fintech customer of crypto-assets and their ability to make informed decisions. The report answers questions such as why did consumers decide to buy crypto-assets, what sources of information they used to make their decisions, and how well in general they understand the market. As expected, this research seems to suggest crypto-assets are bought for investment purposes without fully understanding the risks involved in their decisions. 

The report is an interesting and easy read with plenty of direct testimonies from consumers, and  as such is highly recommended to our readers interested in consumer behavior and/or financial innovation.

In the future, it would be interesting to expand this research onto other areas of fintech services i.e. credit, insurance and payments to get a fuller picture of the fintech market structures and their consumers.

ESMA recommends tailored regulation of crypto-assets to secure investor protection

Fulfilling its obligation from the FinTech Action Plan (on which we reported here), last week the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a recommendation for EU law and policy-makers for closing the regulatory gap on crypto-assets.

Crypto-assets are a type of private asset that depends primarily on cryptography and Distributed Ledger Technology. There are a wide variety of crypto-asset, their number is currently estimated to be around 2000. They range from  crypto or virtual currencies like Bitcoin, to so-called digital tokens issued through Initial Coin Offerings (IPOs) that allow businesses to raise capital for their projects, by issuing digital tokens in exchange e.g. for crypto-currencies. Consumers thus may use these assets as investment or as a means of payment, or both if the asset has hybrid features.

Crypto-assets are relatively new and the market is evolving, and poses challenges for regulators and market participants. In cooperation with National Supervisory Authorities, ESMA revealed that the current regulatory framework including MiFID with the rules on investor protection is either difficult to apply to these assets (and how the regulatory framework is applied may be vary between between Member States) or that it cannot be applied at all.

From a consumer protection perspective, these are risky instruments where protection is especially needed. Consumers are likely to have insufficient understanding of the risks involved in the transaction, especially the value of the investment, for example, how the price of the asset is going to change and how likely it is that the underlying project for which the investment is made in case of IPOs is likely to be successful. And then there is also the problem of the reliability of trading platforms. While some of these risks are pertinent to other consumer transactions, they are exacerbated here due to the nature of the products (as being highly abstract, diverse and subject to fast innovation), and to the regulatory gap. The additional practical problem is that consumers may not easily distinguish between those assets that are within the rules are those that are outside the scope of the regulatory framework.

To overcome the current regulatory gap and to ensure a consistent approach, ESMA calls for a special regulatory regime tailored for crypto-assets, that would ensure adequate information disclosure and enable consumers to make informed decisions. While information rules would certainly be helpful, we must urge EU law and policy makers to also consider more intrusive forms of regulation such as product regulation should this prove necessary to provide effective protection for consumers. At least, national legislators/regulators should be empowered to impose limits on product design e.g. price cap. Is opting for more intrusive regulation (or at least a balanced approach between information and product regulation) a preferred regulatory route compared to a mixture of more relaxed information rules with an option of banning products from the market when things get out of control (on which see here)? What do you think?

Is Big Data harmful to our financial well-being?

On the 15 of March a Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities - ESAs (consisting of the European Banking Authority-EBA, the European Securities and Markets Authority- ESMA and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority-EIOPA) published their final report on the impact of Big Data on our financial well-being. The overall conclusion of the report is that the potential benefits outweigh the risks posed by Big Data.

Big Data is a flow of data from our daily online activities that is collected and processed with highly sophisticated IT tools. This may include information from our social media presence, internet browsing history, smart phone signals or data generated by using a payment card. Connecting information from various sources enables financial firms to offer tailored financial products and services to  us, their customers. 

Financial firms are increasingly reliant on Big Data. This this is like to increase in the future with the fast developing Fintech sector that developed exactly with the aim to compete with traditional firms  by providing better suited products to consumers. Fintech is likely to develop faster in the future due to regulatory initiatives such as Open Banking in the UK (see our report here) that mandates banks to share their customer information with Fintech firms upon the consumer's request.

The advantages of Big Data are undeniable. First and foremost, Big Data enables firms to personalized financial products to meet the needs of their customers. Big Data opened the door for innovative, tailored financial products that would not be previously available from mainstream financial providers. This is largely because Big Data enables financial firms to connect non-financial information derived e.g. from our Facebook activity with financial information about our savings to create a better picture about our savings and investment habits, and than to tailor their offer in line with our habits. Secondly, Big Data also enables firms to design their provision of information in a way that can be useful to consumers. For example, the insurance company is able to provide the consumers with a warning that the insurance policy does not cover a parachute jump, which the person recently announced on social media. Finally, the use of Big Data can result in cheaper products for consumers. For example, inexperienced drivers could benefit from lower insurance premiums if they are able to prove that they are driving responsibly. This can be done by installing a telematics device in their cars that will enable insurance companies to check and analyse their driving habits.

The use of Big Data also carries risks. The primary risk is that Big Data is misinterpreted. For example, movements of a doctor that works night shifts could be interpreted as a indication of an unhealthy lifestyle, and as a result a consumer may be denied access to financial services for example a loan. Secondly, consumers may be overloaded with information about various, highly specific products that are difficult to compare and they may end up with a product that is not the best match to their needs. Thirdly, consumers may be also overwhelmed with targeted offers and may end up buying a product that they do not really need. Finally, as every data, Big Data is also vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Given the risks and benefits, the impact of Big Data on our financial well-being is largely dependent on us, on our digital footprint. Firstly on what sort of digital medium we are present, and secondly, what conscious steps we take in making decisions on the information we share. The ESAs warn us that  firms are obliged to inform us on what sort of data they collect about us and how they store it, and that we need to make sure that we understand how our data may be used. However, the recent application of the new GDPR (see our report here) and the many privacy notices we received in recent days reminded us on just how many spaces we are present, and just how many companies store our personal information, many of which we do not even remember signing up for. We were also asked to review our privacy settings, seemingly placing us in driving seat in deciding on the information we are willing to share. But how can we decide on ticking one box rather than the other without knowing the full implications of our decision? For example, a doctor doing frequent night shift may never find out that his/her loan was refused because of misinterpreted information, even is he/she does, he/she might be unaware on just how many occasions he/she agreed to share his/her location, and where he/she needs to go now to turn these settings off. Is control over our Big Data illusionary? Will Big Date be harmful to our financial well-being without this control? What do you think?

Addressing financial innovation: the Action Plan on FinTech

On 8 March 2018 the EU Commission adopted the FinTech Action Plan: for a more competitive and innovative European financial sector, following a Public consultation (on which we reported here). The Action Plan aims towards a future-proof regulatory framework by creating favourable regulatory environment for the flourishing of FinTech services and products throughout the EU.  This initiative fits well with parallel efforts to create the Digital Single Market and the Capital Markets Union.

Although the use of technology in the provision of financial services and creation of financial products is ever increasing, the existing (large) discrepancies between Member States in the regulatory framework under which FinTech firms operate had not been ameliorated. Some Member States like the UK have adopted tailored approach to some, arguably most common, FinTech services and products (such as peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding) and created a 'Regulatory Sandbox' to subject selected FinTech firms to the existing regulatory environment. The majority of Member States however does not have special  rules and regulatory/supervisory approach to these firms and their products and services are being subject to general rules designed for  'traditional' services and products. The discrepancies in regulatory approaches (from setting up a FinTech firm to offering products and services and supervising their operations) is an obstacle for the development of Single Market in this sector.

In the Action Plan the EU Commission addressed the above regulatory discrepancies in various ways. Most importantly, the Commission invites the European Supervisory Authorities to map the current authorising and licensing approaches applicable for FinTech firms in contemplation of creating a European Passporting Regime for these firms (by analogy to the regime currently applicable to bank). It also aims to review the suitability of the existing regulatory framework, including setting up an expert group to identify regulatory obstacles for FinTech (call for applications is open). Finally, the Commission will set up an EU FinTech Law where European and national authorities will receive training and education on technology enabled solutions.

While there is no doubt FinTech services and products may be hugely beneficial for consumers, making their transactions easier and enabling access to personalization of products and services (see some benefits here), FinTech carries a great deal of risk ranging from cybersecurity and data protection risks to the potential of unsuitable transactional decisions and the placement of dangerous products on the market. Although the Acton Plan does intent to facilitate a high level of consumer protection, it does not take into account the nature of consumer markets as such. As most European instruments, this initiative is heavily focused on raising the competitiveness of the EU and in providing choice for consumers. A systematic approach to consumer protection is absent. From a consumer protection point of view, the approach of the Action Plan is partial, addressing for example, the problems of informed decisions on retail investors,  and a danger from creating and marketing harmful products in some forms of speculative investments (crypto-assets).

Nevertheless, the initiative should be welcomed. Technology enabled services and products are a reality that should be addressed sooner rather than later. However, in reviewing the exiting EU regulatory framework and in creating and EU regulatory/supervisory approach, it is imperative to keep consumer interests and the true protection of consumers at the forefront of the initiatives. To this effect, perhaps it is time to conceptualize what is meant by a 'high level of consumer protection' and to follow it up systematically in addressing the protection of consumers on EU markets, including EU financial markets.

The brave new world of open banking: a bit more on PSD2

The 13th of January 2018 is an important date in advancing the framework of financial consumer protection. From today the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) became applicable in Member States.

As we already mentioned in previous posts, PSD2 is bringing many benefits for consumers by using the product regulation technique, a technique that is rarely applied on EU level as a consumer protection tool. The PSD2 abolishes charges for credit cards, regulates the price of cross-border payments, and bans firms to charge for fulfilling their information duties under the Directive. In addition, it also aims to protect consumers by transferring the risk and associated costs of a fraudulent payment or payment by mistake on the payment institution (see the summary here). These are without a doubt important milestones in advancing consumer protection, we must therefore hope that the rules will be enforced properly conferring the intended benefits on consumers.

There is another important aspect of the system of protection established by the PSD2 that we have not mentioned so far. PSD2 goes into the heart of a relationship of a customer and payment service provider enabling customers to decide on the fate of their data and enabling third parties to access data upon the customers' consent. PSD2 gives the possibility of opening up banking data for third party access, leaving the final choice in taking up the possibility to national regulatory authorities. Seeing the great potential for opening up the banking sector for competition, UK's Competition and Markets Authority instructed the 9 largest banks to open up their data, calling the initiative 'open banking.' This is said to be 'Britain's gigantic financial experiment' (see more here and here) that will be come to life gradually in the coming months. Banks must start allowing third parties, such as retailers, technology groups and rival lenders to access the accounts of customers who authorize it, accessing information such as bank statements and account balances. This is said to bring the biggest shake-up in the retail banking since the ATM has been invented 50 years ago (see here)! Sharing customer data via Open Application Programming Interface intends to increase innovation in the banking sector, opening up the market for fintech enterprises who are able to offer competitive prices and more innovative products to those provided by traditional banking.

Those UK customers that participate in the open banking project could benefit from bespoke budgeting advise and more convenient payment services. Several apps has already been launched that aggregate all of a persons financial information held by multiple banks, offering tailored products and services to customers. For example, Plum a savings account provider whose app analyses the customers income and spending habits calculating an affordable amount to save and then depositing this amount on a separate account. Or the online mortgage broker app Trussle that alerts consumers when they should remortgage to find a better deal taking into account information such as the value of the home, early exit fees and the cost of the new deal (see more here). In the future, there could also be apps that enable consumers to compare how much they spend for electricity bills with other people like them, or to receive real time offers from shops while they are shopping.

Sharing data however is not without risks. As mentioned above, PSD2 already incorporated a safety mechanism of transferring the risk of fraud and mistaken payments to payment service providers. The other risk that remains are those related to data protection, that are addressed by GDPR. Even though the supporting framework is in place, opening up access to personal, financial data is not an easy choice. There seem to be a lot more work to be done on informing consumers (this seem to be an area where information could be a useful consumer protection tool given the established framework of protection). Consumers should be at least made aware of what data will be shared, with potentially which providers and what are the limits of data sharing, or how will they be protected should something go wrong. Consumers should the be further educated in understanding the new offers, and in being able to compare the exciting opportunities offered by fintech firms.

Open banking and fintech therefore opens up a brave new world, it will be seen whether consumers are brave enough to participate in it.

Public consultation on FinTech: closes 15 June 2017

The EU Commission is currently holding a public consultation on FinTech (see here).

FinTech, standing for financial technologies, means the use of technology in the provision of financial service. The term is very broad, it includes the provision of traditional financial services with the use of technology by traditional service providers (e.g. online banking), or the provision of innovative products by innovative startups (e.g. peer-to-peer lending and bitcoin). Creating policy solutions for protecting FinTech customers is one of the current priorities under the Consumer financial services action plan that sees FinTech a major driver for strengthening the EU single market for financial services (see for more here).

The consultation  is structured around four broad areas to reflect main opportunities and challenges raised by FinTech:

1. Fostering access to financial services for consumers and businesses;
2. Bringing down operational costs and increasing efficiency for the industry;
3. Making the single market more competitive by lowering barriers to entry; and
4. Balancing greater data sharing and transparency with data security and protection needs.

Useful material for understanding the opportunities and challenge raised by FinTech is provided by a one day conference on FinTech hosted by the EU Commission. The material is available online, including a video of the conference (see it here).

Based on the results of this public consultation and the work of the FinTech Task Force (see our post here) the EU Commission will determine which actions are required to support the development of FinTech and a technology-driven single market for financial services.

The consultation is open until 15 June 2017, and awaits reposes from consumers and organizations. So if you have any personal experience with using FinTech products and services and or if you have relevant research results, please share them. As always, we will be waiting for the results of the public consultation to report on them to you.

Addressing financial innovation: the launch of a New Task Force on Financial Technology

Last week the Commission has launched a Task Force on Financial Technology focusing on the FinTech sector (see the press release here). FinTeach refers to new applications, processes, products or business models in the financial services industry such as peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding. The new Task Force brings together the expertise of the Commission staff in several areas including competition and consumer protection, financial and digital services and digital innovation and security. It will assess the state of the sector in the EU and develop strategies for addressing the potential challenges that this sector poses, in line with the Commission's goal to develop a comprehensive strategy on FinTech. The work of this Task Force is potentially very important for protecting consumers of financial services, given that FinTech challenges the 'traditional' consumer protection rules, including for example the definitions of a consumer and a creditor. The task force will engage with stakeholders and present policy recommendations in the first half of 2017. We will be anxiously waiting for this report.