The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assured stakeholders in the fintech space that the Commission is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in the regulation of the space.
The Commission said it has provided a level playing field to all applicants.
The Director General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama stated this during a meeting with Regulatory Incubation and Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program applicants, Monday.
The SEC DG stated that the Commission understands the anxiety and the need to be regulated but added that the Commission has to be very careful even in its desire to be inclusive.
According to him, “The process of registration is a very technical process because registration is the hallmark of regulation. It goes beyond onboarding and registering, it requires monitoring, education, surveillance, and all of these are continuous. This journey is a new one that we have not gone through before. As we continue, we will find challenges which we need to solve because every challenge is solvable.
“I am here to assuage fears being exhibited, we have provided a level playing field but as a government institution we must take things into context while doing this. The groups that were admitted into the ARIP and RI are beginning to see that we have started demanding for some information, operational updates and more regulatory requirements in line with the concept of a Regulation Incubation Programme or a Sandbox as some other institutions call it. In doing this, we are understudying what they are doing and the risk that they pose to investors and to themselves.
Agama stated that the inputs of stakeholders is important as regulators cannot claim to know everything adding that the rules would be amended to include all valid points to make it an all-inclusive document.