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Fintech & Payments

Fintech

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.

The Bank remains committed to executing its Fintech Policy through:

The monitoring and supervision of Fintech activities where the activities relevant to the use of a Fintech product/service falls within the Bank’s remit.

Collaboration with domestic regulators to facilitate wider Fintech Innovation and to ensure that Fintech is appropriately regulated.

Engagement with entities wishing to utilize Fintech to provide financial service.

Collaboration with International and Regional Regulators.

Public Consultation on The Draft Payment Systems and Services Bill and Accompanying Regulations

The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (Central Bank) is advancing a comprehensive reform of the National Payment System, and invites industry participants and other interested stakeholders to provide comments on the Draft Payment Systems and Services Bill (PSS Bill) and its accompanying Regulations, which are being issued for public consultation. This initiative forms part of the Bank’s commitment to ensuring financial stability, operational reliability, and systemic resilience.

As a key component of this reform, the Central Bank has developed a comprehensive payment system and services legislation, following the publication of the Policy Proposal Document for the Payment System Bill (“PPD”) in 2021.

The Draft PSS Bill proposes a modern, comprehensive and risk-based legislative framework and seeks to strengthen the legal foundation for the National Payments System, taking into account emerging business models and evolving risks within the payments landscape. The legislation, though technology-agnostic, addresses the regulation and supervision of payment service providers (PSPs) and the oversight of Payment systems, and the risks posed by rapidly advancing technologies that are rapidly changing the payment landscape.

The Central Bank considers stakeholder engagement a critical component in developing sound and effective legislation and welcomes constructive feedback from industry participants and other interested stakeholders. The following presentation provides an overview of the proposals for legislative reform of the Payment Systems and Services sector:

A Brief Presentation On The Legislative Reform

Consultation Documents

Documents

The Draft Payments System and Services Bill (“the Bill”), along with its three accompanying Regulations, the Revised PPD and the Stakeholders matrix can be downloaded as follows: