IMF-JFSA-BOJ Conference on FinTech

Date: Monday, April 16

Time: 9: 15 ~ 17: 20

Toranomon Hills Forum, Tokyo, Japan

IMF’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (OAP), the Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA), and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) co-hosted a conference on FinTech in Asia in Tokyo, Japan on April 16, 2018.

The conference provided a unique opportunity to take stock of Asia’s frontrunner role in FinTech, highlighted opportunities of its applications (in particular for financial inclusion), and identified risks and regulatory challenges. For details, please see below.

Agenda

Time

Program

9:15 - 9:30AM

Opening Remarks

Mr. Chikahisa Sumi, Director, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, International Monetary Fund (IMF)

9:30 - 9:40AM

Welcome Address

Mr. Hideki Murai, Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA)

9:40 - 10:00AM

Landscape of FinTech Developments

 An initial overview presentation touched on the broader context in which FinTech innovations are taking place, their potential for un-bundling financial services and re-bundling them with non-financial ones, and their potential benefits (financial inclusion, more secure transactions in an aging society, better risk management) and risks (privacy, cyber, stability).

  • Birds-Eye View of FinTech Developments and Their Interactions with Incumbent Financial Industry
  • Issues for Discussion

[Speaker]

Mr. Masafumi Miya, Director, Head of Payments Innovation and FinTech Group, Payment and Settlement Systems Department, Bank of Japan

PRESENTATION

10:00 -10:15AM

Coffee Break

10:15 - 12:45PM

Session 1: Key FinTech Applications

(1) Payments – Developments of Asian Payment Systems

Sub-session 1-1 on payment system demonstrated FinTech payment landscapes in Thailand, China, and Japan. Panelists explained how service providers can propagate new payment solutions and offer broader access to financial services through FinTech. The panelists also pointed out the importance of building institutional trust for such new payment services by taking the right balance between convenience and security, for further improvement in this field.

 

[Moderator]

Mr. Takashi Kondo, Deputy Director, FinTech Center, Payment and Settlement Systems Department, Bank of Japan

[Speakers]

Mr. Buncha Manoonkunchai, Senior Director, Bank of Thailand

PRESENTATION

Mr. Tao Sun, Senior Director, Ant Financial (Alipay), China

PRESENTATION

Mr. Shinichi Takatori, CEO, Kyash, Japan

PRESENTATION


(2) Remittances –Applications of Blockchain/DLT and Current Limitation of Technologies

Sub-session 1-2 on remittances centered around virtues and limitations of DLT and blockchain in the payments/remittances space. Presentations gave an overview about the history, current usage, and potential future applications of DLT, such as for retail cross-border remittances, KYC, interbank settlement, central bank digital currency, trade finance, document management, and capital raising by SMEs. 


[Moderator]

Mr. Takahiro Yamasaki, Director, FinTech Center, Payment and Settlement Systems Department, Bank of Japan

[Speakers]

Mr. Tatsuto Fujii, Principal Analyst, Digital Transformation Division, MUFG, Japan

PRESENTATION

Mr. Boon-Hiong Chan, Director, Head of Market Advocacy Asia Pacific, Deutsche Bank AG Singapore

PRESENTATION

 

(3) New Types of Lending – P2P, Big Data (Transaction Lending)

Sub-session 1-3 on new types of lending demonstrated how lending decisions based on big data and AI can increase access to finance. Presenters demonstrated that the new types of lending can be especially beneficial for SMEs, and that credit risk analysis and loan formation process can be simplified through machine learning. 

  • Demonstration by a Data Analytics Company, to Apply Different AIs for Lending Decision Making
  • Real-Life Cases in Asia

[Moderator]

Mr. Shuji Kobayakawa, Associate Professor, Meiji University

[Speakers]

Mr. Richie Zhang, Chief Product Officer, China Securities Credit Investment (CSCI), China

PRESENTATION

Mr. Akira Shibata, Chief Data Scientist, DataRobot, Inc., Japan

PRESENTATION

12:45 - 2:00PM

Lunch Break

2:00 - 3:20PM

Session 2: Implication of FinTech Developments in Asia (1) – the Perspective of Financial Inclusion

Session 2 probed into the benefits of FinTech for financial inclusion. Based on the IMF Asia Pacific Department’s forthcoming departmental paper, it was stressed that FinTech can create potential for successful leapfrogging - including via social experimentation and private-public partnerships - provided that regulation and supervision, technological infrastructure, and financial literacy are upgraded in sync. These were common themes also in the presented country cases on Cambodia, Philippines and Bangladesh and subsequent discussions.

  • *IMF Perspective on Financial Inclusion
  • *Financial Inclusion Strategies/Policy Initiatives in Asian Countries
  • *Technology Applications to Promote Financial Inclusion
  • *Issues/Hurdles/Challenges for Practitioners/Policy Makers

[Moderator]

Mr. Alfred Schipke, Senior Resident Representative in China, IMF

[Speakers]

Mr. Kenneth Henry Kang, Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department, IMF

PRESENTATION

Ms. Serey Chea, Director General, National Bank of Cambodia

PRESENTATION

Ms. Ma Theresa S. Habitan, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance, Philippines

PRESENTATION

Ms. Lila Rashid, General Manager of Payment Systems Department, Bangladesh Bank

PRESENTATION

3:20 - 3:40PM

Coffee Break

3:40 - 5:10PM

Session 3: Implication of FinTech Developments in Asia (2) – the Perspective of Financial Industry

Session 3 examined the FinTech implications for the financial industry. Large-scale “disruption” of traditional financial service provision might be more likely in Asia’s emerging markets - as already exemplified by China where large players moved first from e-commerce into payment services and then into broader financial services. In contrast, in Japan, FinTech will likely have a more collaborative or complementary role to financial sector incumbents. There were discussions on related regulatory questions, such as entity vs. activity-based, rules- vs. principle-based, and self-regulation. An overview of JFSA’s FinTech initiatives and regulations was also showcased. 

  • *Disruptions or Partnership
  • *How Incumbent Banks use FinTech and/or Collaborate with FinTech Companies
  • *Possible Changes of Regulatory/Monetary Policy Frameworks in FinTech Era

[Moderator]

Mr. Toshitake Inoue, Director for Credit System, Planning and Coordination Bureau, Financial Services Agency, Japan

PRESENTATION

[Speakers]

Mr. Danny Gilligan, Co-founder, Reinventure, Australia

PRESENTATION

Mr. Tomofumi Watanabe, Head of Silicon Valley Digital Innovation Lab., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Mr. Ashraf Khan, Senior Financial Sector Expert, Central Bank Operations Division, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF

PRESENTATION

5:10 - 5:20 PM

Closing Remarks

Mr. Masayoshi Amamiya, Deputy Governor, Bank of Japan