FCA announces fourth round of firms for fintech sandbox

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced the fourth round of successful businesses for its fintech sandbox.

Part of the FCA’s commitment to boosting innovation in financial services, the regulatory sandbox enables businesses to experiment with new products, services or business models in a live environment under appropriate protections.

Increase

More than 25 fintech businesses have been selected to test products, with the FCA receiving 69 applications for the fourth round, an increase on the number of applications for the previous round.

Among the successful firms are money management platform Chasing Returns, regtech firm Creativity Software, investment platform CreditSCRIPT, and SME financing insights platform Fractal.

APIs and artificial intelligence are among the technologies that the fourth cohort of firms will be using, while more than 40% of businesses will be using distributed ledger technology (DLT). Consumer credit and automated advice will also be covered.

The FCA’s regulatory sandbox is part of Innovate, an initiative that was first launched by the FCA in 2014 with the aim of boosting competition for the interest of consumers. So far, Innovate has received more than 1,200 applications and provided support to over 500 businesses.

Record

Commenting on the latest round of businesses in its regulatory sandbox, the FCA’s Executive Director of Strategy and Competition Christopher Woolard stated that he was pleased to say that it is the largest sandbox cohort to date, with the number of applicants meeting the FCA’s eligibility criteria reaching a record high.