3. Configuraciones activas de electrodo
3.4 Densidad de campo eléctrico en las diferentes configuraciones
SPECIAL FEATURE: FINANCIAL INNOVATION
This is a problem that’s quite widely known across a range of FinTech areas, but particularly so in virtual currency and blockchain-related businesses and start-ups. It can be a struggle to get banking operating and to open bank accounts, and part of the reason for that is regulatory uncertainty. But now, Europe has given some regulatory certainty by saying that it’s not something that they want to regulate beyond the fundamental anti-money laundering considerations that are particular to virtual currency exchanges and custodian wallet providers. That means the rest of the space – because we can’t yet call it an industry – now has some certainty that it’s not going to be regulated in terms of blockchain or virtual currency regulations, only the regulations that already exist. This allows them to know exactly what they are expected to do and what rules they need to meet when making an exchange, and allows them to work out their compliance cost and adjust their business models accordingly.
In the rest of the world, this is not the case. For example, in New York they introduced early regulation that was wide-ranging and comprehensive. When last I checked, there was only one company there with a bitcoin licence one year down the line; the small, innovative businesses had fled the state, and so you can see that that approach had a stifling impact upon innovation. Of course, this is not everywhere in the world, but I don’t know of anywhere that has given as much certainty to enable businesses to plan, operate and interoperate with other businesses, banks and payment institutions as Europe.
What is your perception of the reactions of more traditional institutions in the finance sector – banks and other organisations – to bitcoin technology and other emerging innovations?
Bitcoin and virtual currencies are problematic for banks, and I think they will remain so for some time. I’m not expecting a dramatic change on cryptocurrency-related business as a result of the adoption of this report; I think that will be a slower process, perhaps years.
But in terms of banks’ use of the technology themselves, I think we have seen a huge growth in banks’ interest in blockchain and distributed ledger technology. There are probably very few banks that are not doing some work in that space, and some are very involved, undertaking proofs of concept to see how they can use the technology to bring more efficiency to their businesses, and how some financial industries could be reshaped by use of the technology. Certainly, the regulatory certainty that’s now been given will be helpful in accelerating their interest in this field. So, to monitor the technology, ECON proposed
the creation of a task force that would be set up and led by the commission. In his response, Commissioner Hill indicated that the commission sees virtual currencies as something to be included in the mandate of a new FinTech task force. In this way, there may be a very pragmatic approach that won’t involve unnecessary cost burdens for citizens, but still achieves the same end result in ensuring that the technology is monitored for potential changes in risk profile.
That fairly hands-off approach is to be applauded, but there is one specific area of legislation that’s being considered as part of the commission’s action plan to combat terrorist financing, which is to include virtual currency exchanges and custodian wallet providers as 'obliged entities' within the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, and that responds to the council’s call at the end of last year, and its endorsement of the plan at the beginning of February. I think parliament and the council will almost certainly support the proposal.
How does working and doing business in Europe compare to other regions of the world, e.g. the US or Asia, when it comes to innovating in finance? What advantages does that have when it comes to addressing challenges? If we are looking at virtual currencies and blockchains then I think Europe has now positioned itself head and shoulders above other regions of the world in this regard. It’s unusual for the European Parliament, or indeed any parliament, to endorse a technology, which is in effect what they did in late May. They have recognised innovative potential and therefore the benefit of innovating in this field, which gives encouragement to innovators to start their own businesses and use this technology.
Businesses benefit from certainty, especially regulatory certainty, and this is a new technology and it has not been clear up until now what the regulatory landscape will look like. That uncertainty is a slowing factor in innovation as it affects willingness to invest, inroads for venture capital, and even businesses being able to open bank accounts.
Siân Jones
European Digital Currency & Blockchain Technology Forum www.edcab.eu
Pan European Networks: Government19 www.paneuropeannetworks.com
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SPECIAL FEATURE: FINANCIAL INNOVATION
than purchasing the rental through the branch of the hire company back home. With an increasing expectation that the market should operate in this way, Cairns stressed that the MasterCard payment approach causes no blockages in cross-border payments. Welcoming the potential removal of obstructions, she said: “If we get rid of national barriers, though – if you think about it from the point of view of a small business in Italy or the UK or Germany – it means there really is a single European market to go after. Their access to all those consumers has just increased dramatically.”
Indeed, there is a sense that the payment infrastructure is in place, and markets such as China and the United States have proven that scale is no barrier.
While MasterCard would happily see the European single market deepen further – removing the barriers to business and transactions between EU countries – Cairns explained that there is a need to ensure that Europe does not put up unnecessary walls. Such excessive regulation can prevent small and large business alike from working in an efficient cross-border manner.
Education
Evidently, Europe has opportunities ahead, one example of which is its education systems.
IN
May this year, MasterCard published the findings of a survey on Financial and Digital Inclusion in Europe. Amongst its analysis, it found that while 74% of the population consider financial inclusion to be important, only 49% believe there is a high or somewhat high level of inclusion in their country. Just 22% said that they consider Europe to be the most financially inclusive region in the world. Amidst this, two out of three Europeans expect national governments to take responsibility for improving financial inclusion.In western Europe alone 90 million Europeans are financially excluded with no access to services such as current accounts. Over half of those interviewed in the study don’t feel engaged in the economic system, and a clear gender gap perception exists, with 83% of those polled agreeing that they believe men have a higher degree of financial inclusion than women.
Speaking on 2 June at the European Business Summit 2016, a gathering of European business and political leaders, Ann Cairns, president of international markets for MasterCard, addressed these key issues and, later, talking to PEN, made plain her concern that so many Europeans feel this way.
Asked what she would like to see come forward at the EU and national level to address the challenge, Cairns acknowledged that there have been moves to confront economic exclusion, citing the efforts in Italy to introduce a prepaid card that acts as a bank account. Users of the card are able to receive money and use the card to make payments. Mimicking cash, such ‘stored value products’ hold much promise in tackling the challenge.
She told PEN: “I think governments also have a big role to play in including their citizens. If they started paying government payments directly to people electronically, and provided those excluded people with such means of receiving payments, that would change the inclusion picture. We’ve seen that a lot in places like South Africa, Egypt and Kenya. Some of the governments in the emerging markets realise that that’s the only way to get people included.”
In contrast, the MasterCard executive cautioned, European governments could do more to embrace such approaches.
Thinking about barriers
Evidently, new and innovative developments hold great potential, and with the commission pursuing the Digital Single Market initiative, Cairns sees an opportunity. Reflecting on the need to bring down barriers, she said that visitors to European countries should be able to access and pay for services in the same way as locals. For example, if a visitor to Italy hires a car while in the country, there is a growing feeling that they should purchase the rental in just the same way as a local rather