Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Huang Tien-Mu reveals 2024 Fintech promotion plan, without mentioning blockchain applications

Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Huang Tien-mu publicly announced the key focuses of financial technology promotion in 2024 during the Chinese New Year press conference on January 30th. From electronic payments to AI, from financial FIDO to data sharing, however, there were no topics related to blockchain and cryptocurrency that the crypto community had been anticipating.

Emphasis on Cross-Market Data Sharing

According to the "Financial Technology Roadmap 2.0," by the end of this year, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will issue an important data governance guideline to promote cross-market data sharing. This is not only one of the key policies for 2024 but also a significant step towards a new era of data sharing.

Focus on AI Technology, Cross-Border Interagency Electronic Payments

In addition to officially implementing the "Operational Regulations for Financial Institutions to Utilize AI Technology" in the first quarter of this year, the FSC will also approve the provision of cross-border payment functions on the electronic payment interagency shared platform in the second quarter, ushering in a new era of AI in the financial industry.

Promotion of Financial FIDO Authentication Mechanism

The FSC is focusing on the Financial FIDO V2 project and will launch the construction of the "Financial FIDO Authentication Referral Center" in the second quarter of this year. There are plans to expand the application of Financial FIDO beyond financial institutions by 2025.

What is FIDO?

FIDO, which stands for Fast IDentity Online, represents a technical standard aimed at providing a fast and secure way to log in, allowing users to access different websites and applications with a single set of passwords. With the advancement of digital technology, people often need to remember many different and complex password rules when using various digital services. These cumbersome and numerous password combinations not only cause inconvenience to users but also lead to frequent incidents of account and data theft. The emergence of FIDO is intended to address these issues by providing a simpler solution.

Upgrade of Cloud Services and Cybersecurity Measures

This year, the FSC will officially implement the self-regulation standards for cloud services developed by the industry association and conduct a series of cybersecurity drills, including DDoS attack-defense drills and scenarios of major cybersecurity incidents, to strengthen cybersecurity protection.

Promotion of Innovative Insurance Services

The FSC is placing emphasis on the promotion of insurtech and plans to complete the review of over 10 innovative insurance service cases by the end of the year. In the third quarter, a review and revision of regulations related to e-commerce in the insurance industry will be conducted to expand the business scope of online insurance services.

Prevention of Fraud and Financial Crimes

This year, the FSC will focus on preventing fraud and financial crimes, aiming to enhance the response capabilities of financial institutions in this area through seminars, joint autonomous verification activities, and other events.

Temporary Suspension of Corporate Online Account Opening Policy

Although the digitization of corporate finance is an important initiative, the FSC has not included online account opening for corporations with three or more individuals as a policy focus for this year. The FSC will first implement a trial run of online account opening for pure online banks for corporations to explore the possibility of refining regulations.