Fintech
The Future of Finance
EMILY RICE
West Virginia is paving the way in a new sector of business and commerce called financial technology , or fintech — an emerging industry that uses technology to streamline activities in finance .
Though the average consumer may not be aware of this new term , fintech is already a part of many daily transactions by making financial services accessible from an app or website . The term includes any technology used in the financial services industry .
“ Simply put , fintech is part of our future ,” says West Virginia Department of Economic Development ’ s Business Attraction Manager , Kelsey Staggers . “ Technology is constantly progressing how we do nearly everything in our dayto-day lives . The financial industry is no different . More companies are going to require consumers to pay electronically for goods and services instead of using cash . Probably the most widely used form of fintech is payment transfers through smartphones .”
Online payment services like PayPal , Apple Pay and Transferwise are examples of fintech , but the term also refers to everything from traditional financial transactions like saving , investing and loan processing to innovative financial technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency .
“ The fintech industry has great untapped potential in the Mountain State ,” Staggers says . “ During the 2020 legislative session , House Bill 4621 , which implemented a regulatory sandbox , was passed by the West Virginia Legislature and signed by the governor . The sandbox allows companies to bring their fintech products to West Virginia and test them for 24 months . We are one of only a handful of states with a fintech sandbox , which makes us competitive .”
In April 2020 , West Virginia became one of the first states in the U . S . to adopt a regulatory sandbox that offers fintech companies a controlled testing environment to test their products with a limited number of customers under regulatory supervision . This supervision acts as a framework to help pave the road to authorization .
“ The vast majority of regulations in any given field , from finance to health care , to education , sound reasonable when they ’ re presented on their own . The problem arises when there are so many overlapping , well-intentioned regulations that it becomes difficult to lawfully conduct business ,” says West Virginia Delegate Riley Keaton . “ Regulatory sandboxes provide relief from those stifling regulations and allow companies to focus on employing people and developing their product .”
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