South Africa and global insurance, financial institutions, banking and general law know–how
Financial services providers (FSPs) registered under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 2002 fall within the ambit of ‘accountable institutions’ under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 2001. As accountable institutions, these FSPs are obliged to comply with the FIC Act and are subject to oversight by the FSCA.
The FSCA has recently investigated compliance…
When the Financial Sector Regulation Act (FSRA) was introduced in 2018, the FSCA was tasked with regulating and supervising the way banks conduct themselves in relation to the provision of financial products and services to customers.
In fulfilment of this mandate, the FSCA has published a conduct standard for banks. The conduct standard is supported…
The majority of the Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (POPI) effectively commenced on 1 July 2020. The sections that commenced deal with how personal information (which is any information that can identify and infringe the privacy rights of a natural or juristic person) may be processed in South Africa or transferred across borders.
As…
During a virtual meeting held on 10 June 2020, Cabinet approved the Financial Sector Laws Amendment Bill of 2020, for submission to Parliament. In the first step to formalising a resolution process for financially distressed banks, the Bill proposes to designate the SARB as the Resolution Authority, and enhances the SARB’s regulatory tools for discharging…
On 20 May 2020, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) published a draft Conduct Standard for Exchanges and a draft Directive for Exchanges.
Conduct Standard for Securities Exchanges
The main objective of the proposed conduct standard is to introduce requirements for the conduct of securities exchanges in response to increased competition in the South…
Exchanging bank notes and coins are increasingly seen as risky business, as noted by Thomson Reuters in an article on the rise of digital money transactions.
The COVID-19 pandemic may speed up the global move towards digital-only payments. Apart from the more widespread use of payment apps, electronic funds transfers and cryptocurrencies, the idea…
The financial services regulators launched the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) Innovation Hub on 7 April 2020 to respond to changes in the financial sector driven by fintech. The IFWG seeks to promote responsible innovation in the sector.
The Innovation Hub is intended to support the sector in introducing innovations that complement the core mandates…
On 24 March 2020, in recognition of the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the financial services industry, the FSCA released general communication 9 of 2020 which sets out relaxations of regulatory requirements.
In summary, the FSCA has granted:
Financial services providers
…
The speed at which the COVID-19 situation is evolving means that financial services firms are having to work rapidly to ensure that their business services can continue to operate. Effective and successful management of crises such as these is directly related to how well prepared organisations are to respond.
In light of the developing situation,…
Financial technology, often referred to as FinTech, is the marriage between financial and technology services. The FinTech offering seeks to provide innovative alternatives to traditional methods in the delivery of financial services.
The different categories that sit within the ambit of the broader FinTech offering include: lending, payments, wealth management and personal finance, digital currencies…
