UK’s P2P Platform Interest Bottlenecking FCA Authorization Process

The United Kingdom has harbored a peer-to-peer (P2P) affinity as of late, with a plethora of companies and startups now pursuing authorization to design and implement a new generation of P2P platforms – unfortunately, the existing regulatory framework by the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has stymied authorizations, resulting in a temporary bottleneck, per a recent FCA report.

The UK is not alone in its lack of comprehensive and fluid P2P Regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term, which by and large is emblematic of the fintech space as a whole. The US has dealt with a similar phenomenon, which in turn has led to a call from industry proponents to overhaul the existing framework in a bid to help streamline innovation.

P2P platforms have already benefited from a groundswell of interest in 2016, which only looks to rise as companies look to take advantage of new technology. This in turn has led to an uptick in applications for FCA authorization that to date the regulatory body has not been able to process as quickly.

The FCA recently authorized eight firms to operate P2P platforms, given the rampant interest in facilitating Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term between people or between people and various enterprises, namely as a pliable alternative to traditional banking. However, the regulatory body also reported that a staggering 86 firms still remain in line for authorization, with only 44 obtaining interim permission to actually operate.

Unfortunately for the FCA, its previous decree to engender a thorough P2P regulatory standard is at least a year away, which hampers its call to promote competition in the P2P lending industry in the interim – the queue at the FCA is only slated to rise as the regulator scrambles to process such high volumes of applications.

According to a recent FCA statement regarding the backlogged authorizations and growing queue for P2P lending applications: “We are working closely with individual firms to ensure they meet the rigorous statutory standards and are authorized as quickly as possible.”