June 16, 2021

Professor published in new Fintech handbook

Professor Ryan Clements has contributed a chapter to The Routledge Handbook of FinTech.

The Routledge Handbook of FinTech offers comprehensive coverage of the opportunities, challenges and future trends of financial technology.

Ryan's chapter is titled "Regulating Fintech in Canada and the United States: Comparison, Challenges and Opportunities." The rise of FinTech has attracted increased attention from investors, entrepreneurs, existing financial-sector participants, and regulators. FinTech has many potential benefits, and it could transform banking, lending, payments, investing and other financial services through the internet, smartphones, artificial intelligence, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and many other current and future digital technologies. Such benefits include lower costs, an enhanced scope of products and services, and the possibility of reaching and offering previously underserved customers greater credit and financial services. Policy makers in Canada and the U.S. should encourage these positive developments, foster innovation, and competition, and reduce barriers to entry, while ensuring adequate safeguards are established for the stability of the financial system and necessary consumer protections are in place. The market environment and regulatory approaches in Canada and the U.S. are similar but not uniform. Each jurisdiction faces different challenges and opportunities. The speed and complexity that this new wave of FinTech has expanded throughout North America and the world, in just a few years, has created regulatory challenges for authorities in the U.S. and Canada. FinTech has many potential risks. If this revolution is not managed well, the results could be serious, including the risk of destabilizing the financial system.

This handbook is a unique and in-depth reference work. It is organised in six thematic parts. The first part outlines the development, funding, and the future trends. The second focuses on blockchain technology applications and various aspects of cryptocurrencies. The next covers FinTech in banking. A significant element of FinTech, mobile payments and online lending, is included in the fourth part. The fifth continues with several chapters covering other financial services, while the last discusses ethics and regulatory issues. These six parts represent the most significant and overarching themes of FinTech innovations.

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