New York joins common state licensing platform for fintechs

WASHINGTON — The New York State Department of Financial Services announced Thursday it will allow fintech companies to register through a common platform used by a majority of state regulators, marking another step toward better regulatory coordination that will help states compete with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s fintech charter.

“The success and effectiveness of the [common state licensing] platform is just one more example of the superiority of the state-based financial services regulatory system in protecting consumers and fostering industry innovation,” said Maria T. Vullo, the head of New York’s banking regulator.

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Vullo’s announcement comes a day after the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, which runs the platform, announced a raft of new measures designed to make the state-by-state licensing system less burdensome for fintech companies. The program, which they called Vision 2020, included steps to harmonize the supervision of fintech companies and educate states on the growing industry.

“By working with the CSBS, which is leading the modernization of state regulation through Vision 2020,” Vullo said, “DFS is supporting the strong nationwide regulatory framework created by states.”

The New York regulator will allow money transmitters, which include many fintech companies, to sign up through the common platform starting July 1. It will eventually allow all nondepository institutions operating in New York to register through the platform.

New York’s addition to the common platform, called the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry, is a significant one, as it is an important starter state for fledgling fintech companies. It is one of only 13 remaining states that do not allow companies other than mortgage servicers to register through the multistate licensing system.

In April, the bank supervisor group announced that 18 states had signed on to a common quarterly call report filing system for money-services businesses.

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