SEC allays fears over Fintech regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assured stakeholders in the fintech space it is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in the regulation of the space.

The commission said it has provided a level playing field to all applicants.

The Director General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama stated this during a meeting with Regulatory Incubation and Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program applicants on Monday.

The SEC DG stated that the commission understands the anxiety and the need to be regulated but added that they have to be very careful even in its desire to be inclusive.

• Mother throws baby tagged bastard into river
• Stampedes: Obi picks holes in IGP’s directive on palliative distribution

He said, “The process of registration is a very technical process because registration is the hallmark of regulation. It goes beyond onboarding and registering, it requires monitoring, education, and surveillance and all of these are continuous. This journey is a new one that we have not gone through before. As we continue, we will find challenges, which we need to solve because every challenge is solvable.

“I am here to assuage fears being exhibited, we have provided a level playing field but as a government institution we must take things into context while doing this. The groups that were admitted into the ARIP and RI are beginning to see that we have started demanding for some information, operational updates and more regulatory requirements in line with the concept of a Regulation Incubation Programme or a Sandbox as some other institutions call it. In doing this, we are understudying what they are doing and the risk that they pose to investors and to themselves.

“We have not only done that, we have also issued new regulations to the public, which we call an exposure document. If you look at it, it is an upgraded version of our earlier regulations and the regulation making process demands that we get your views as stakeholders before it becomes a regulation.”

Agama stated that the inputs of stakeholders is important as regulators cannot claim to know everything adding that the rules would be amended to include all valid points to make it an all-inclusive document.

He further disclosed that the commission has increased the space to include more regulations to accommodate more individuals, more institutions and more functions because accommodation is the stance of the government regarding the space.