A Study On The Legal System Of Regulatory Sandbox In The Era Of Fintech

In the era of Fintech,science propels finance while technology drives innovation,and the development of technology serves as a significant way to motivate the financial innovation.Fintech has brought about not only opportunities for development but also severe challenges for the financial regulator.Hence,it is imperative to improve,supplement and change the regulatory measures,institution and tools under the existing framework of financial supervision,thereby coordinating the financial innovation with financial supervision,striking a balance between encouraging innovations and preventing risks,while improving governance ability and supervision level of the regulators.On this basis,the thesis takes regulatory sandbox in the era of Fintech as its research object,exponding along with the logic of “what is regulatory sandbox——why is it necessary to introduce regulatory sandbox——how to consciously achieve its formal system arrangement in our country”.The author certifies that it is both necessary and feasible to be introduced to China,with a focus on elaborating the British model of regulatory sandbox,and then attempts to establish a counterpart legal system in the context of our country,hoping to provide useful recommendations for setting up a long-term mechanism and seeking an effective path of China's financial supervision in the era of Fintech.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the thesis is divided into four parts.The first part introduces the emergence of regulatory sandbox in the era of Fintech.It expounds the challenges of Fintech to financial supervision,as well as the basic connotation,the institutional origin and the status quo of regulatory sandbox.In the era of Fintech,the financial supervision is confronted with many challenges.To solve this issue,the regulatory sandbox initiated by FCA is an comparatively idealized countermeasure.The so-called regulatory sandbox means that the financial regulator allows the Fintech institutions to conduct tests in the real market without prejudice to the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers.In this model,there is no need for those Fintech institutions to worry about the possibility of suffering from severe supervision,and the financial regulator can take the opportunity to adjust supervision rules at the same time.So far,it has been put into practice in many countries and regions.The second part answers the question of “whether it is necessary and feasible for China to introduce the regulatory sandbox” from a theoretical level.On the one hand,the regulatory sandbox can guide the rightful development of Fintech and financial innovation,and enhance the benign interaction between the regulators and regulatory objects,while achieving the policy target of protecting financial consumer's interests.Therefore,it is necessary to introduce the regulatory sandbox for our country.On the other hand,it is also a feasible practice,since the regulatory sandbox matches with the demand of constructing the modern financial governance system,and it accords with the logic of regulating the internet finance as well as the track of implementing the financial reform pilot in China.The third part investigates the foreign practices of regulatory sandbox with a focus on analyzing the British model.First comes an overview of the five regulatory sandbox tests counsecutively launched by Britain.Secondly,it introduces the applicable subject and operation process of the British model,pointing out that the pattern of “application––check” does not set a qualification limit,and six procedures in the operation process including submitting an application are explained in detail.Thirdly,the next part is the introduction to five check criteria of the British model,namely the scope of application,the degree of innovation,the benefits of consumers,the necessity of implementation and the state of preparation.Meanwhile,the strong value preference to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers is elaborated.Fourthly,the author interprets the five categories of sandbox tools in the British model of regulatory sandbox,that is restricted authorization,individual guidance,exemption or modification of rules,letters without enforcement measures and informal guidance.The final sector is a summary of corresponding abroad experience and enlightenment.The fourth part attempts to establish the legal system of regulatory sandbox in China.The author focuses on how to realize this goal under the existing institution of financial supervision and its current legal framework.Firstly,the thesis specifies the supervising authority of regulatory sandbox,that is the newly established Fintech regulator attached to the Financial Stability and Development Commission of the State Council.Secondly,the author clarifies the applicable object of its legal system,believing that the Chinese model can only be applied to the Fintech organization and the industry with innovations.Thirdly,the thesis illustrates the protection mechanism of financial consumers which should be refined during the promotion of regulatory sandbox.Lastly,the author makes a reasonable optimization of sandbox tools in the context of our country,while probing into the legal authorization method of regulatory sandbox.