The FCA are asking for your views on the potential benefits and harms that may arise from Big Tech firms’ entry and expansion into retail financial services sectors.
Big Tech firms’ presence in UK financial services markets has been increasing and has the potential to grow quickly. Given the potential implications for consumers and competition, the FCA want to better understand the emerging risks and opportunities to ensure that benefits to consumers are harnessed and important harms mitigated.
The purpose of this paper is to stimulate a discussion on the potential competition impacts raised.
The FCA want to hear views about areas where Big Tech entry is likely to create the biggest competition benefits for consumers and those areas where there is the greatest risk of significant harm if competition develops in a particular way.
This discussion will help inform their development of an effective competition approach for Big Tech firms in UK financial services that is coherent with the wider competition and regulatory landscape in the UK and internationally.
Who will be interested in this discussion
It will be of particular interest to:
- Big Tech firms
- established regulated financial services firms
- smaller challenger firms (including fintech firms)
- trade bodies of regulated firms
- consumers
- groups representing consumers’ interests
- national and international competition authorities and regulators
Respond to this Discussion Paper
The FCA are asking for comments on this Discussion Paper by 15 January 2023.
Send responses via this online form or by email to: DP22-05@fca.org.uk
You can also contact them via email if you would like to discuss this work.
What happens next
The discussion period will end on 15 January 2023. Following this, the FCA will consider your feedback and plan to publish a Feedback Statement in the first half of 2023.
To support the launch of this work, the FCA will also be hosting an expert panel event on 28 November with sector specific roundtables on 6 and 7 December.
See the event page for more information or to register.
