FinTech CEO Committee

Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Opening:

The fifth meeting of the FinTech CEO Committee was called to order at 4:30 PM Istanbul Time on August 3, 2021 on Zoom.

Present:

Dr. Fatin Al Zadjali, Acting Assistant Dean for Academic Support and Student Affairs and Head of Islamic Finance, College of Banking and Financial Studies

Mr. Firas Al Lawati, Head of Fintech Committee, Central Bank of Oman

Mr. Kaleem Saleem, Deputy Chairman SME Committee, Oman Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Mohammad Ridzuan Abdul Aziz, Advisory Board Member, FinTech Association of Malaysia

Mr. Mustafa Kuğu, Founder, FASTER Community

Agenda:

Recent developments in the FinTech industry

Length of the Meeting:
1 hour

Meeting Highlights:

Faster Community has received an invitation from Emnes Events, the organizers of the ‘Islamic FinTech Leaders Forum’ for its consideration as an active group in keeping up with the latest FinTech developments, to collaborate as a media partner on a roundtable on Islamic FinTech, with a 20% special discount for Faster Community members to attend the event, and complementary passes for the roundtable participants.

This new integrated business model between Faster Community and the Islamic FinTech community is an excellent opportunity for the latter to become well known outside the Faster Community network, and promote its brand name in future events.

The FinTech market has continued to help expand access to financial services during and post-COVID-19 pandemic, and Omani FinTech market is one of the markets that have adapted quickly to the pandemic. In a shifting market landscape with constant disruption, businesses in Oman have shifted from legacy models to e-business models in a move to develop a cashless society.

More companies are going virtual, with a 300% increase in demand for digital payments.

The FinTech ecosystem can be split into four segments as follows:

  • The need to acquire a FinTech platform
  • The need to process the FinTech platform
  • The need for regulatory bodies to control operations
  • The need to have enough FinTech products to close the gap between supply and demand.

The Central Bank of Oman FinTech vision in Oman is to have a dynamic digital financial ecosystem that fosters financial development, thus providing sustainable support to competitive and diversified economic sectors in the Sultanate through innovation. The ultimate goal is to facilitate new enablers and related frameworks to address the market needs and spur its growth, plus to support the drivers underpinning emerging technological innovation and developments to the financial and banking sector to deliver innovative banking and financial services. Its ultimate objective is to work toward establishing a comprehensive and nurturing FinTech ecosystem in Oman to enable support for FinTech startups, SMEs, banks, and technology firms to develop innovative solutions, which will eventually contribute to the county’s economic growth, create new job opportunities and attract venture capital investment to the country.

To meet its vision, the CBO has constituted an internal FinTech committee, introduced the FinTech Framework and Roadmap, and the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox Framework, while prioritizing plans for the development and enhancement of innovation in the financial sector in the country, especially given the rapid strides that the sector has been making globally and regionally and its continuous contribution to the financial inclusion and overall economic growth. Moreover, in 2018, CBO have issued the National Payment Systems Law (NPSL).

The CBO's FinTech ecosystem comprises of four beams and seven pillars, that is focusing mainly on policies, infrastructure, talent and demand, and is going to focus as well on the adoption of dynamic laws and regulations, the development and engagement of national talent and skills, the collaboration between education and academia in the FinTech sector, and the attraction of considerable and sustainable investments to the sector.

CBO is making sure its Fintech's initiatives and objectives are aligned with Oman 2040 vision, which focuses on a number of national priorities.

Moreover, CBO is working currently on a number of key initiatives such as Electronic Know Your Customer, drafting cloud computing framework, drafting open banking strategy, FinTech professional education program, etc.

As to Malaysia, the country has marked a new milestone in regulatory reform following the launch of the National Policy on Good Regulatory Practice (NPGRP) on July 30, 2021, which is an improvement on the National Policy on Development and Implementation of Regulations (NPDIR) launched in 2013.

The Good Regulatory Practice (GRP) Program helps create a stable and enabling regulatory environment for investment, trade, and entrepreneurship, and thus supports healthy economies and regional competitiveness. It will facilitate the establishment, development and growth of technology innovations (FinTech, TechFin and new approaches) to support the nation's digital economy ecosystem.

It consists of:

• Aligning the key focus to four aspects in policy drafting for the respective agency: Authorization, supervision, enforcement and development

• The need for all agencies to adopt similar aspects for their respective rules and regulations that they administer

• The objective is to have clarity for each agency in managing continuous rapid development of digital-based innovations that would support a digital ecosystem

• Five focus areas, which are talent, technology relevancy, go-to-market approach, investment, and governance framework.

This initiative is approved by the National Productivity Authority, under the national budget act.

Closing Remarks:

The global FinTech market size is expected to reach USD 190.80 billion in 2028 and register a CAGR of 8.5% over the forecast period, according to the latest market intelligence report released by Reports and Data. Major factors driving market revenue growth are rising demand for smartphones and banking apps, increased investment by private investors in FinTech companies, rapid internet penetration, implementation of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technologies across various operations and processes, and increased disposable income. However, the authorities that are responsible of financial consumer protection are increasingly faced with the challenges of developing or adapting regulation to address risks to consumers generated by FinTechs.

Written by:
Mrs. Danielle Karam
Manager - Corporate Communications
Global Corporate Communications & Marketing Department
Path Solutions