On October 24, 2019, four federal regulators took a significant step toward international regulatory collaboration in financial innovation when the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially joined the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN).

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), along with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and other international financial regulators, formed the GFIN in January 2019 with a mission “to provide a more efficient way for innovative firms to interact with regulators, helping them navigate between countries as they look to scale new ideas.” GFIN’s initiative includes pilot programs for financial services innovators or Fintechs wishing to test new financial products or services across multiple jurisdictions and promotes the creation of a new framework for global collaboration between financial services regulators on innovation-related topics.

The addition of the four U.S. prudential and market regulators will increase the scope and potential impact of GFIN’s global collaborative efforts. The Federal Reserve, however, is notably absent from GFIN’s membership. The U. S. regulators’ participation in GFIN follows up on a recommendation of the U.S. Treasury Department’s July 31, 2018 report on financial innovation, which called for greater coordination among the host of federal, state, and international regulators having jurisdiction over financial services innovators or Fintechs.