ECRI Newsletter Nº 55, Winter 2017

Wrap-up of a productive year at ECRI: Fintech, consumer protection, cybersecurity, macroeconomics and financial inclusion

Author: Sylvain Bouyon, Research Fellow at CEPS/ECRI

Consistent with its commitment to independence and objectivity, ECRI is maintaining a strong voice on key policies affecting retail finance. In particular, it is developing broad networks and expertise on financial technology and the digital transformation of consumer finance and macroeconomics. As such, through its Task Forces, research projects and events, ECRI is playing a growing role in providing the European institutions with relevant findings and insights in relation to various EU policy agendas for retail finance, notably PSD2, CCD, MCD, GDPR, PAD and eIDAS.

After successfully completing one Task Force on the Digital Transformation of Consumer Finance in February, another was launched in September on “Cybersecurity in Finance: Getting the policy mix right!” Drawing on its on-going in-depth research, ECRI will soon publish a paper aimed at informing the debate on a possible new CCD (as announced by the Commission), as well as a study on the difficulty retail banks are experiencing in managing their costs during the digital transformation. In 2018, further studies will also be carried out in the context of PSD2.

In addition, ECRI continues to organise influential conferences that help shape the debate on the policymaking processes for consumer finance. Two were particularly success in the past year, the first organised on January 31st to debate the best policy tools for enhancing financial innovation and a second one on May 30th to explore big data, payment systems and blockchain. ECRI has also collaborated in organising various other events with European associations to discuss major items currently on the agenda of the EU policymakers.

On October 17th, it co-organised a well-attended conference with BEUC and EFIN on “Fintech and big data: A solution to financial exclusion?”. The purpose of the present Newsletter is to provide a recap of the main insights and analyses produced at this event. The leaders of well-known consumer associations, practitioners of successful Fintech start-ups and a renowned academic, all of whom contributed to the conference, offer their reflections on the main issues, risks and opportunities in relation to big data, Fintech and financial inclusion.