CSBS Announces FinTech Charter Alternative

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced recently a new plan for the regulation of FinTech and non-bank financial institutions dubbed Vision 2020. The initiative seeks to standardize state regulatory systems and develop a data sharing accord that helps states maintain up to date information to craft new rules. The vision includes components for a multistate licensing system and industry advisory panel. The hope is that the new measures will aid state regulators in keeping current with new technological breakthroughs and ease the ability of banks to provide services to non-banks.

Vision 2020 comes on the heels of a federal government plan, spearheaded by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), to charter FinTech companies and bring them under the umbrella of federal oversight. However, the recent departure of OCC chief Thomas Curry casts serious doubt as to whether the agency’s charter proposal will ever see implementation. On April 26th, the CSBS filed a lawsuit against the OCC challenging the agency’s authority to regulate non-banks under the National Banking Act. The future of the OCC’s FinTech charter system will be on hold for now.