The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Sharjah Research, Technology, and Innovation Park (SRTIP) to establish a framework for cooperation in fostering the exchange of information and the provision of mutual assistance in financial technology. Bringing this MoU into action will encourage and support innovation in services offered by financial markets within the limits permitted by the laws and regulations applicable to both parties.
The MoU was signed on behalf of SCA by its acting chief executive officer, H.E. Dr. Maryam Al Suwaidi, and on behalf of SRTIP by its chief executive officer, H.E. Hussain Al Mahmoudi.
Dr. Al Suwaidi said that SCA’s goal of this collaboration and the exchange of information on financial technology is to keep up with the latest in the changing structure of conventional financial services now that financial technology can deliver faster, cheaper, more secure and transparent, and widely available services. It can provide simple solutions and alternatives and high-quality services.
She added that she expects that the “MoU will lay the foundations for programs and initiatives that boost digital financial services, which utilize technology in their delivery, whether in cryptocurrencies, blockchain, or e-portfolios, plus other services that provide people with simple, easy to use, and secure services that satisfy their needs.”
For his part, Al Mahmoudi said: “We are pleased with this collaboration, which will have a visible impact on encouraging and supporting innovation in financial market services, enhancing financial technology, and facilitating the conduction of business and the delivery of financial services across the UAE. We, at SRTIP, seek to foster innovation across public and private entities as we are complying with the country’s directives to create an environment conducive to innovation and to facilitate the delivery of services.”
“Undoubtedly, this MoU will support both parties in achieving their common goals, which are viewed as the key elements of a future knowledge-based economy in the country. This necessitates that we, as a center for applied sciences and innovative technologies, intensify our efforts to seek partnerships with government and private entities in an attempt to turn SRTIP into a regional hub for developing future technologies by creating a favorable environment for research and development, a hub that works for the benefit of educational institutions and local research and development centers,” he said. “This MoU is the result of cooperation and coordination among various government sectors aspiring to fulfill a common vision by introducing a package of initiatives that aim to transfer and nationalize technology and promote a knowledge-based economy in the UAE in general and in Sharjah in particular,” Al Mahmoudi concluded.
The MoU provides for mutual assistance and the exchange of information relating to financial technology. It emphasizes the provision of training and mutual technical assistance to train the personnel of both parties in fintech-related areas. The parties, however, will consult each other to identify training needs and areas of technical assistance required to bolster financial market development, subject to the availability of capabilities and resources in these domains.
Under the MoU, the two parties will embark on joint innovative projects relating to the application of key technologies, including mobile payment, blockchain, distributed ledgers, big data, Application Programming Interface (API), and other new areas of technology.