The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (Central Bank/Bank) considers Fintech to encompass the provision by companies of new financial services that primarily take advantage of recent developments in technology and communications. For us, the key distinguishing features from traditional financial services that we monitor are that:
- many of the companies offering such services are not financial institutions under our purview (banks, insurance companies, pension funds etc.).
- the technology used is dynamic and allows for almost instantaneous movements of funds and contact among users that may bypass financial institutions.
The Central Bank developed a Fintech Policy aimed at promoting an environment to accommodate ongoing financial innovations while mitigating risks. Key tenets of the Fintech Policy were published in 2018.
