The so-called Financial Technology (or FinTech), which refers to the innovation of products and services in the financial, credit and insurance sectors, as well as in the regulated markets, at large, by leveraging on the new so-called digital technologies (such as AI and DLT), is growing at a steady pace, bringing about radical changes in the way companies are managed, as well as in the interaction between the latter and their clients and in the management of business risks.
In digital finance, the concept of disintermediation plays a key role, for it is gradually reshaping traditional financing channels and the way in which the parties involved meet, also affecting the traditional concept of cash, overwhelmed by the growth of the crypto-activities.
If, on the one hand, FinTech is a driver of development for both innovative start-ups, which experience an increase in their financing channels, and the traditional banking & finance system, which can boost the sale of its products and services, it might, on the other hand, involuntarily contribute to the intensification of existing threats, such as cybercrime.
In this context, our Firm assists crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending platforms, payment service, corporate finance, wallet of crypto-activities and open banking providers, robo-advisors, as well as those subjects interested in savings collection through crypto-currencies’ issues (ICOs).
Our legal advice to the afore-said market actors ranges from the impact assessment on the relevant EU measures, as implemented in Italy (including, but not limited to, MiFID II, PSD2, GDPR, as well as the recently-announced EU Digital Finance Package, which will introduce, among others, a new EU regulatory framework on digital operational resilience), to the monitoring of the legal aspects of the use of blockchain, algorithmic trading (AT) and high frequency trading (HFT) in the financial market.
We support our Clients in the structuring of their products and services, as well as in setting up the related contractual platforms, and in dealing with the competent EU and Italian supervisory authorities.
Technology runs faster than its governing rules. FinTech’s exponential growth, in recent years needs to be counterbalanced by new regulations aimed at enhancing investors’ protection. The Firm stands out for its expertise and legal experience in the regulatory field, which represents a value-added element in supporting business initiatives.
