Unrestricted by the many regulatory requirements expected of traditional banks, fintechs have leveraged their position as disruptors in the market by promoting their ability to offer more agile services at lower prices.
But, according to Ibrahim Toyeeb, CEO of global payments and collections company, Leatherback, while there is no doubt that fintechs have disrupted the financial services market, the word ‘disruption’ has been over-used in the fintech field. “Technology, innovation, regulation and experience should go side-by-side. It should not be a matter of one or the other. The ability of fintechs to sidestep regulation has created distrust amongst consumers, who are increasingly voicing the need to be assured that their money is safe.
“That is why – when we started Leatherback – we decided to view regulation as our friend, rather than our enemy.
From the beginning, our model was always to get licenses in the countries we operate in,” he says.
Leatherback’s licensing approach is rooted in the understanding that getting directly licensed helps build trust with clients, and provides them with the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are dealing with a fully regulated entity.
Leatherback commenced the licensing process in the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. “Notably, we are licensed with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, which is the highest regulatory body in the world. This means we are held to extremely high standards. We benchmark all our processes against the FCA and our systems are structured to adhere to all FCA requirements.”