FinTech: Commission takes action for a more competitive and innovative financial market

The European Commission today unveiled an Action Plan on how to harness the opportunities presented by technology-enabled innovation in financial services (FinTech). Europe should become a global hub for FinTech, with EU businesses and investors able to make most of the advantages offered by the Single Market in this fast-moving sector.

As a first major deliverable, the Commission also put forward new rules that will help crowdfunding platforms to grow across the EU’s single market. Today’s Action Plan envisages to enable the financial sector to make use of the rapid advances in new technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud services. At the same time, it seeks to make markets safer and easier to access for new players. This will benefit consumers, investors, banks and new market players alike. In addition, the Commission proposed a pan-European label for platforms, so that a platform licensed in one country can operate across the EU. The Action Plan is part of the Commission’s efforts to build a Capital Markets Union (CMU) and a true single market for consumer financial services. It is also part of its drive to create a Digital Single Market. The Commission aims to make EU rules more future-oriented and aligned with the rapid advance of technological development. You can find the full press release, a MEMO on Fintech and one on crowdfunding as well as a factsheet online.