Today I was thinking about regulation. I was thinking about it in the context of a time when Facebook and friends face media regulation and cryptocurrencies face government/central banker regulation.

I was also thinking about whether the recently passed Crowdfunding legislation in Australia will disrupt traditional fundraising sources to a small or a large extent. In this last week, 7 crowdfunding 'exchanges' were licensed by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission, so it will be interesting to see how this all goes over the coming months and years. The jury will be out on that one for awhile, but in the meantime I suspect it will be like herding cats.

But as I was about to close down for the day I came across the UK Open Banking regulations that commenced in the UK some hours ago. The controversial regulations require banks and payment companies to share data with third parties if the customer agrees (for the top 9 platforms, it appears the concept is now mandatory).

 You can read the articles here and here.

The driver? Encourage comparison and account switching. 

A number of commentators believe Open Banking will open the floodgates for big tech given many tech players (yep, the usual suspects) already have payment platforms. The suggestion is that pretty soon Brits could be WhatsApp chatting a 'tenner' to their mates. Peer to peer - sound familiar?

But steady the bus - a recent Accenture survey suggests that more than 2/3 of the UK consumer cohort is not prepared to share information with retailers, tech firms and social media companies.

A slight problem?

No matter, the disruption tsunami rolls on with any meaningful regulation to protect personal information and identities forced underwater never to see the light of day.

Mike

NextLevelCorporate delivers independent and transformative corporate finance solutions to clients looking to reshape their competitive landscapes, in and out of Australia. Our ability to do this comes from ~30 years of sector-specific proprietary intelligence, cross-border relationships and the freedom to independently originate and advise on customised Mergers & Acquisitions, Growth Capital and Special Situations solutions.