Fast growing. Disruptive. Promising.

All are fitting words to describe the financial technology community that is taking off, FinTech—the shorthand as this sector has come to be known—is showing there are plenty of opportunities to reshape the traditional ideas toward finance.

If “sandbox” and “blockchain” are new terms for you, they won’t be after reading this issue of TechConnect. As you’ll learn inside, public policy efforts are very much part of helping bring about the success that FinTech is experiencing in Arizona. Of course, there are other examples of FinTech progress that we’ll explore in these pages.

Besides telling you where the state has been, Arizona Technology Council CEO Steve Zylstra offers a few ideas on where we should be headed in the use of FinTech.

The Arizona Technology Council will continue its efforts to move the ball forward in FinTech as
the organization turns to policymakers and government leaders for their support of both new ideas and ways of doing the state’s business. For example, with blockchain in place, we encourage the Arizona Corporation Commission to work towards utilizing it for corporate records and filings by initiating trials and pilots to develop capabilities, gauge future direction, and, when appropriate, inaugurate full-scale initiatives. Commission members also should examine the potential to issue and trade securities on a blockchain platform. 

Why stop there? Arizona’s executive branch may want to consider using blockchain in managing and storing state government records for cost, efficiency and security considerations; initiating trials and pilots to develop capabilities; gauging future direction; and, when appropriate, inaugurating full-scale initiatives. 

What other potential opportunities exist? What about money itself?

The Council has a goal of helping drive state regulatory reform to allow use of virtual currency that meets the needs of the FinTech sector where innovations primarily rely on virtual currency. By providing a streamlined supervisory experience for virtual currency and non-bank firms that is transparent, we would provide a level playing field for businesses that doesn’t favor larger players over small ones, and appropriately protects consumers from harm. The Council will work with other states and national organizations in establishing common multi-state money transmission licensing (MTL) and virtual money regulation and licensure that would ensure legal and regulatory reciprocity between participating jurisdictions.

As you can tell, we should explore getting the most bang for the buck when it comes to FinTech.

Read the Summer 2019 issue of TechConnect Magazine or download the PDF.