Last week, Nairametrics hosted a webinar tagged “Fintech Rising: Creating synergy between fintech players and regulators” to discuss the regulatory environment within which the wealth-tech ecosystem operates and how it is transforming the sector.
The recent announcement by the SEC about its first license for Fintechs – Digital Sub-broker license – has led to several questions being asked about what this type of registration would mean for players within the space. Tosin Osibodu of Chaka, a digital trading platform for local and foreign stocks, who was present on the panel, provided insights into what being regulated by SEC means, and the benefits to the sector.
- Being regulated does not limit your business:
He highlighted that from the start, Chaka has been extremely focused on being regulator friendly, explaining that being regulated does not mean that one’s business would be limited. Regulators are committed to ensuring development and innovation within the ecosystem but will first make sure that businesses are aligned with their goals and are beneficial to the public.
- SEC’s intention for creating this new license:
The regulators’ intention is to make sure that everyone participating is registered and structured in line with set guidelines, and it is incumbent for players to engage SEC to do that. The right approach to take is to engage regulators, show the benefits of your business to the economy as being an enabler of digital investing, making sure it is easier for people to tap into the markets, and so on; then get requisite registration.
- The importance of regulation:
Tosin further highlighted that the main benefit of being regulated has to do with investor confidence, security, and scale. When a wealth-tech company just starts out, it is exciting both for the operators and the customers, but as it grows, it is necessary to scale, and that would require business and regulatory compliance according to set guidelines that obtain within the sector. Customers would want to know that in the long-term their money is safe, which the SEC is trying to ensure. The disadvantage of not having regulation in this sector is the uncertainty for the investing public, which the SEC is guarding against.
With this new license, which Chaka is in line to receive, the SEC is ensuring that only compliant platforms would be allowed to operate so that investors will be more confident knowing that their assets are safe and stable. It would further encourage more people to invest, and encourage more players to enter the market, therefore spurring innovation.
