A majority of Bank Innovation readers do not believe the results of the November midterm elections will have any impact on regulation pertaining to the fintech industry. In November’s poll conducted on Bank Innovation, readers were asked how the elections would impact fintech regulation, and if so, will it have a positive or negative impact on the industry?
The poll was taken by 100 Bank Innovation readers, who predominantly come from a banking or fintech background. Out of this number, almost half of the poll takers, or 48%, said they weren’t sure if new regulations will take shape in 2019, and if so, what impact they will have on the industry. On being asked how the outcome of the recent election would affect fintech, these people chose the answer, “Who knows? It’s the Trump era, no one knows anything.”
But a sizable amount of those surveyed — 34% — think there will be new regulation based on this year’s elections in which Democrats control the House and Republicans the Senate. However, among this 34%, there is some disagreement as to if that new regulation would be good or bad for the industry.
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Of the total number of poll takers, only 13% agree that new regulation will be good for the industry, while many more — 21% — said: “Any new regulation is bad for the entire industry.”
And yet it is hard to deny that the scope of innovation largely hinges on a country’s regulatory environment. Take, for instance, PSD2. Thanks to this initiative, banks across Europe were mandated to open their data (using APIs) to fintechs, thus creating a ripe environment for bank-fintech partnerships as well as a better experience for customers.
The U.S. market, by contrast, has no such mandate. So, it comes as no surprise that 17% of those who took Bank Innovation’s latest poll believe that there will be no new regulation in the wake of this year’s midterm election.
Also See: What You Should Know about Europe’s Big Payments Regulation PSD2
But this is not to say that all regulation is good for the industry. Indeed, regulation could cripple innovation just as much as it can promote it. In Australia, for example, the recently passed anti-encryption law allows the government to force companies to provide access to encrypted user data. Large technology companies such as Apple are currently voicing opposition because of the potential security risks such regulation could cause.
Good or bad, the impact that regulation can have on a specific industry is undeniable.
The U.S. fintech industry got a taste of that when Treasury Department officially endorsed the idea of a “fintech charter,” this summer, leading the OCC to reopen its application for fintech charters.
See the entire results for Bank Innovation’s November poll below:
- How will the outcome of the recent election affect fintech?
- Who knows? It’s the Trump era, no one knows anything: 48%
- Bad- Any new regulation is bad for the entire industry: 21%
- No change, no new regulation, or regulation that has no impact: 17%
- Good – Congress will enact regulations that are good for tech but bad for banks: 13%
Weeks away from 2019, for the last poll of the year, Bank Innovation is asking what trend will be the biggest next year. To take part in this poll, look to the right side of the page.







