TECHNOLOGY
serving local customers , but fintech has accelerated that model significantly .
There are many different fintech propositions , and a lot of them require legal debate as to where they ' re located , where the service is being performed , where the product is , and so on . Essentially , given their methodologies , most countries ’ law and regulation can ' t keep up practically with how people are using these services . However , it is possible to use English law and UK regulation to sell services and products globally , under the UK ’ s protective umbrella . This involves using trust law and other structures to ensure the assets all have their legal home in the UK , which allows for the UK ’ s fair and predictable regime to be applied to the value chain .
The solution is not in seeking to comply with the conflicting rulebooks . Many rulebooks are too detailed . The fact is that it ' s not possible to write an exhaustive rulebook that covers every single permutation , but some legislators are constantly trying to get ahead of the market . The EU approach is particularly prescriptive and takes a ‘ blanket ’ approach to rules , whereas the UK-US method is more observational and supportive of private businesses , so long as they ' re not problematic .
HK : In my opinion , the EU ’ s GDPR is now the strongest data protection regime in the world and will set a ‘ gold standard ’ for other jurisdictions . It requires companies that process EU citizens ’ data to abide by the regulations , regardless of location . Similar regulations could soon be replicated in other countries where there is significant cross border activity .
108 August 2021