Fintech Corporations: Defining the Practice and Regulation of Innovative Financial Enterprises - Part I

The term “financial technology” (Fintech) has gained popularity across the globe. It has generated a lot of debate among financial lawyers, academics, policymakers, and the media. However, there is still disagreement regarding the precise definition of Fintech and the types of financial activities, institutions, and markets that the term actually covers. The purpose of this multi-part paper is to make the study of Fintech a distinctive academic discipline for banking law scholars, students, and practitioners. First, this paper examines the nature and meaning of Fintech and considers how artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data, and e-commerce have been applied to or integrated with financial institutions and markets. The second part of this paper, to be published in the next issue of The Banking Law Journal, discusses the main corporate structures and business models of Fintech, and outlines common characteristics of Fintech businesses. The third part of this paper, to be published in the following issue of The Banking Law Journal, puts forward a brand-new regulatory framework for Fintech consisting of five pillars for sound and effective governance of Fintech: corporate finance and securities regulation, corporate governance and ESG, regulatory sandbox, regulatory technology (RegTech), and the balanced regulatory strategy. This paper sheds light on the theory, practice, and regulation of innovative financial enterprises.