On Monday 14 November, the European Commission set up an internal working group tasked with monitoring the impact of technical innovations in the financial field, with particular focus on the rapid rise of the FinTech sector.
According to the Commission, this initiative is based on the objective of developing a "comprehensive strategy" for companies active in the field of FinTech, a sector in which companies use information and communication technologies to deliver financial services faster and more economically.
The working group, which is made up of experts in financial services, the information society, competition and consumer protection, will present its recommendations to the political decision-makers by mid-2017.
In its draft own-initiative report reacting to the Commission's Green Paper on retail services, the European Parliament takes the view that the development of FinTech must not be hindered, whilst ensuring that the regulatory framework guarantees the same game rules as the traditional banking sector (see EUROPE 11645).
On the same day, the European Banking Federation (EBF) presented its vision of the virtual banking sector. It identifies nine areas calling for regulatory intervention including electronic identification, data protection and payment services (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)