News -

MFSA issues Fintech Strategy for Malta

Malta aims at Becoming Centre of Innovation and FinTech

A FinTech Strategy was issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), showcasing Malta as a key player within the global FinTech market. The strategy was created after consultation with major stakeholder who also provided feedback on the proposal. 

Six-Pillar Strategy

Feedback on the strategy was overall positive, indicating that the proposed initiatives satisfy the growing needs within the sector as well as supported financial and technological innovation. The strategy also follows trending movements in the industry through a six-pillar plan that focused on withstanding long-term developments. The launch of the Sandbox was noted to be significant in doing so. Along with the strategy, the MFSA also approved the first Virtual Financial Asset (VFA) Agents.

Stakeholders also provided feedback regarding the possibility of obstacles for service providers such as security issues. They also voiced concerns on resource availability for operators and the necessity to regulate arbitrage by such firms.

Despite this, the strategy has been received as one that seeks to establish an environment in which investors are protected as well as one that ensures innovation and financial stability. 

Related links

Topics

  • Law

Categories

  • vfa
  • malta financial authority services
  • mfsa
  • blockchain
  • fintech malta
  • fintech

Contacts

Related media

Related content

  • The Blockchain Report: Insight into Blockchain laws around the World

    Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates has taken the initiative of producing a report which analyses the different approaches governments around the world have taken towards the Blockchain industry. By analysing such regulations, the report is able to determine the impact these will have on blockchain-based businesses.

  • Minister to give force of law to Malta Blockchain Acts

    The Malta Financial Services Authority has announce the date in which Malta will be bringing into force the three blockchain acts. Operators will, therefore, be able to rely on secure legislation when setting up their blockchain businesses or when relocating to Malta once the laws come into force. This will also allow Malta to truly establish itself further as the Blockchain Island.

  • Three Malta blockchain bills approved at second reading

    The Maltese Parliament has been the first to unanimously approve three blockchain bills. The unanimous approval was announced by Hon. Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri on the 26th June. It has also been held that Mr Stephen McCarthy has duly been appointed the CEO of the newly established Malta Digital Innovation Authority.

  • Malta's blockchain strategy

    Malta's strategy has the single and focused purpose of making Malta one of the first countries in the world to embrace blockchain and jump on the bandwagon of the new economy. The plan is for Malta to pioneer a change at EU level, with the goal of dubbing the EU as the 'Bitcoin continent'.

  • Blockchain technology for insurance companies In Malta

    ​Blockchain technology presents a number of opportunities for various businesses, including insurance companies. There are various possibilities which Maltese insurance companies could explore, as we shall highlight below.

  • How blockchain works?

    A blockc​hain consists of a distribut​ed ledger on a peer-to-peer network. The ledger is made up of transactions which take place on the same network. Transactions do not necessarily have a monetary value, and the word transactions is to be interpreted widely to mean any type of data transfer across such network.

  • The impact of blockchain on the financial services sector

    ​Blockchain​ technology is transforming the financial services industry and creating opportunities for both new and established players. Blockchain's ability to provide a new form of distributed database or ledger could be applied across a broad range of applications in financial services.

  • What Is blockchain technology?

    Blockc​hain is a secured and reliable distributed ledger technology, operating on a peer-to-peer network to be validated without the need for an intermediary, thus ensuring traceability and transparency. Similar to the rising of t​he internet, blockchain has the potential to truly disrupt multiple industries and make processes more democratic, secure, transparent, and efficient.

  • Blockchain and payment services

    The distributed ledger makes it possible to connect all the parties in a financial​ trade in real time for faster processing of a payment – all while maintaining an audit trail. As such, it is virtually impossible to change or control the data, since processing is distributed over the network. This is vital in preventing fraud or a security breach.

  • Blockchain and initial coin offerings (ICOs)

    Blockchain offers a new approach to data management and sharing that is being proposed as a solution to many of the inefficiencies afflicting the industry. The idea is to have a new architecture, where all capital market participants work from common datasets, in near real-time, and where supporting operations are either streamlined or made redundant.

  • Blockchain and funds

    Introduction
    In the early age of stock exchanges, trading was a straightforward process without any intermediaries involved. However, over the time, the financial services industry has continuously evolved towards a more complex model where an increasing number of parties are now involved in each transaction.
    This increased complexity had a huge impact in terms of cost and efficiency to proc

  • Blockchain and insurance

    The insuranc​e industry is uniquely positioned to benefit from blockchain technology as it can be used to facilitate claims handling in a more efficient manner. Fraudulent claims, manual processes, fragmented data sources, policies for one user sitting in silo and legacy underwriting models are some of the biggest challenges experienced in the insurance sector today – all causing low satisfaction.

  • Blockchain and investment services

    ​Bloc​kchain technology has transformed from a popular buzzword to a technology that is in the process of revamping a wide range of operational and business processes within the financial s​ervice industry. A segment of the financial industry that could benefit greatly from the implementation of the distributed ledger technology is the invest​ment services sector.

  • Blockchain and banking

    ​Some industry experts believe that implementing blockchain technology in the banking sector is poised to solve multiple challenges facing such industry by facilitating faster, secure, and more transparent transactions. However, ​blockchain presents a double-edge sword for banks.

  • Blockchain and capital markets

    While banks were among the first to test and consider blockchain in their processes, stock exchanges (a fundamental part of capital markets) were quick to keep pace. In fact, some of the most established stock exchanges around the world are looking at ways of how they can benefit from blockchain technology in order to fundamentally overhaul their current traditional processes.

  • A primer on the blockchain

    For every transaction process currently in existence, there's the technology of Blockchain ready to disrupt it. Payments, contracts, intellectual property, financial transactions, polls and voting, import and export - indeed, every time a third-party is involved to process a transaction, the blockchain could replace it.

  • Malta’s VFA Framework – What Next?

    During 2018, the VFA Framework was implemented in Maltese Law. Since then, various other jurisdictions have taken initiatives to implement their own VFA framework. Moreover, movements in the European Union to harmonise this industry have also been anticipated.

Enter your email address to follow Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates

When you choose to create a user account and follow a newsroom your personal data will be used by us and the owner of the newsroom, for you to receive news and updates according to your subscription settings.

To learn more about this, please read our Privacy Policy, which applies to our use of your personal data, and our Privacy Policy for Contacts, which applies to the use of your personal data by the owner of the newsroom you follow.

Please note that our Terms of Use apply to all use of our services.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing or deleting your account.
Check your inbox

Email sent to __email__. Click the link there to follow Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates.

Okay