EU investigates possible Dutch and Polish blocking of fintech services

(Reuters) - EU antitrust authorities are investigating Dutch and Polish banking associations and their
members to determine whether financial technology services are being blocked from accessing
customer account data.

The two bodies were the targets of dawn raids by the European Commission last week, spokesmen from
both associations confirmed on Monday.

The Commission said the investigation would focus on whether banks and their national industry
associations acted as a cartel or abused their dominance.

Representatives of the German, British and French banking bodies said they were not raided.

The EU investigation comes amid efforts by the Commission to attract more financial technology, or
fintech, companies to catch up with the United States and China. One of its directives requires banks to
provide customer data to competing services.

Britain's withdrawal from the EU has added urgency to the task because more than 80 percent of the
bloc's fintech market is based in Britain.

Fintech companies range from those offering mobile payment apps to digital currencies such as bitcoin.
Still relatively small, the new players have been grabbing market share from traditional operators in
payments and lending.

Amazon (AMZN.O), for example, has provided $3 billion in loans since it launched its lending service for
small businesses this year.

However, fintech businesses have found banks reluctant to share customer data while proposed
regulatory rules such as higher liquidity and capital buffers are also seen as barriers.

Companies found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules face fines of up to 10 percent of their global
turnover.

Nepal rescuers find 3 bodiesnear crashed US Marine

Nepalese rescuers on Friday found three bodies near the wreckage of a U.S. Marine helicopter that
disappeared earlier this week while on a relief mission in the earthquake-hit Himalayan nation, officials
said.
Nepal’s Defense Secretary Iswori Poudyal gave no details about the nationalities of the victims. The
helicopter was carrying six Marines and two Nepalese army soldiers.

The wreckage was found near Gothali village in the district of Dolakha.

The U.S. Embassy in Nepal had no immediate comment Friday.

The discovery of the wreckage, first spotted by a Nepalese army helicopter Friday, followed days of
intense search involving U.S. and Nepalese aircraft and even U.S. satellites.

The U.S. relief mission was deployed soon after a magnitude-7.8 quake hit April 25, killing more than
8,200 people. It was followed by another magnitude-7.3 quake on Tuesday that killed 117 people and
injured 2,800.

The second quake was centered between Kathmandu and Mount Everest, and hit hardest in deeply rural
parts of the Himalayan foothills, hammering many villages reached only by hiking trails and causing road-
blocking landslides.

Arti:

Regu penyelamat Nepal menemukan 3 mayat di dekat jatuhnya Marinir AS

Nepal penyelamat pada hari Jumat menemukan tiga mayat di dekat reruntuhan helikopter Marinir AS
yang hilang awal pekan ini saat misi bantuan di negara Himalaya yang dilanda gempa, kata para pejabat.

Menteri Pertahanan Nepal Iswori Poudyal tidak memberikan rincian tentang kebangsaan dari para
korban. Helikopter itu membawa enam Marinir dan dua tentara tentara Nepal.

Reruntuhan pesawat ditemukan di dekat desa Gothali di distrik Dolakha.

Kedutaan Besar AS di Nepal tidak memiliki komentar segera Jumat.

Penemuan reruntuhan, pertama kali ditemukan oleh helikopter tentara Nepal Jumat, diikuti hari
pencarian intens melibatkan AS dan pesawat Nepal dan bahkan satelit AS.

AS misi bantuan dikerahkan setelah berkekuatan 7,8-gempa melanda 25 April menewaskan lebih dari
8.200 orang. Hal ini diikuti oleh yang lain berkekuatan 7,3 gempa pada Selasa yang menewaskan 117
orang dan melukai 2.800.

Gempa kedua berpusat antara Kathmandu dan Gunung Everest, dan paling terpukul di bagian sangat
pedesaan kaki bukit Himalaya, memalu banyak desa dicapai hanya dengan hiking trails dan
menyebabkan tanah longsor jalan-blocking.
EU menyelidiki kemungkinan pemblokiran layanan fintech Belanda dan Polandia

(Reuters) - Otoritas antimonopoli Uni Eropa sedang menyelidiki asosiasi perbankan Belanda dan Polandia
dan anggotanya untuk menentukan apakah layanan teknologi keuangan diblokir dari mengakses data
akun nasabah.

Kedua jenazah tersebut menjadi sasaran penyerbuan fajar oleh Komisi Eropa pekan lalu, juru bicara
kedua asosiasi tersebut mengkonfirmasi pada hari Senin.

Komisi mengatakan penyelidikan tersebut akan berfokus pada apakah bank dan asosiasi industri nasional
mereka bertindak sebagai kartel atau menyalahgunakan dominasinya.

Perwakilan badan perbankan Jerman, Inggris dan Prancis mengatakan bahwa mereka tidak dirazia.

Penyelidikan Uni Eropa dilakukan di tengah upaya Komisi untuk menarik lebih banyak teknologi
keuangan, atau fintech, perusahaan untuk mengejar ketinggalan dengan Amerika Serikat dan China.
Salah satu arahannya mengharuskan bank untuk menyediakan data pelanggan ke layanan yang bersaing.

Penarikan Inggris dari Uni Eropa telah menambah urgensi untuk tugas tersebut karena lebih dari 80
persen pasar fintech blok tersebut berbasis di Inggris.

Perusahaan Fintech berkisar dari yang menawarkan aplikasi pembayaran mobile ke mata uang digital
seperti bitcoin. Masih relatif kecil, pemain baru ini telah meraih pangsa pasar dari operator tradisional
dalam pembayaran dan pinjaman.

Amazon (AMZN.O), misalnya, telah memberikan pinjaman sebesar $ 3 miliar sejak meluncurkan layanan
pinjaman untuk usaha kecil tahun ini.

Namun, bisnis fintech telah menemukan bank-bank enggan untuk berbagi data pelanggan sementara
peraturan peraturan yang diusulkan seperti likuiditas dan buffer buffer yang lebih tinggi juga dipandang
sebagai penghalang.

Perusahaan yang dinyatakan bersalah melanggar peraturan antimonopoli UE menghadapi denda hingga
10 persen dari omzet global mereka.
Seperti yang kita ketahui, fintech adalah wujud badan usaha terbaru yang kehadirannya ibarat pedang
bermata dua. Fintech secara kepanjangan adalah financial technology atau bisa juga disebut lembaga
keuangan yang terintegrasi dengan teknologi. Bagi beberapa pihak, hal ini tentunya meningkatkan
efisiensi perputaran dana di masyarakat. Akan tetapi, tidak semua pihak setuju atas hal tersebut, di Uni
Eropa, pihak Belanda & Polandia contohnya. Mereka terindikasi melakukan pemblokiran terhadap
layanan fintech di negaranya. Upaya pemblokiran fintech ini haruslah ditangani dengan tegas.

Uni Eropa menganggap Belanda dan Polandia mengadakan pemblokiran karena mendapat beberapa
laporan dari badan-badan fintech di kedua negara tersebut, bahwa mereka kesulitan untuk mendapatkan
informasi tentang nasabah bank yang mereka (nasabah bank) adalah pengguna fasilitas fintech. Hal ini
tentunya sangat merugikan fintech, karena informasi nasabah adalah dasar utama dari pelayanan
fintech. Dampaknya fintech tidak mampu mengembangkan usahanya, dan berimbas terhadap
ketertinggalan UniEropa terhadap Amerika dan China dalam hal pengembangan fintech bagi
pertumbuhan perekonomian nasional.

Menyadari betapa potensial fintech bagi pertumbuhan ekonomi nasional, maka Uni Eropa diharuskan
bertindak tegas terhadap pihak-pihak yang terindikasi melakukan pemblokiran terhadap fintech, entah
itu bank, ataupun asosiasi perindustrian nasional di suatu negara (pada kasus ini adalah Belanda dan
Polandia).

News Item

EU antitrust authorities are investigating Dutch and Polish banking associations and their members to
determine whether financial technology services are being blocked from accessing customer account
data

The EU investigation comes amid efforts by the Commission to attract more financial technology, or
fintech, companies to catch up with the United States and China. One of its directives requires banks to
provide customer data to competing services.

However, fintech businesses have found banks reluctant to share customer data while proposed
regulatory rules such as higher liquidity and capital buffers are also seen as barriers.

The Commission said the investigation would focus on whether banks and their national industry
associations acted as a cartel or abused their dominance.

Analytical Exposition

As we know, fintech is the latest form of business entity whose presence like a double-edged sword.
Fintech is an extension of financial technology or can also be called a financial institution that is
integrated with technology. For some party, this will certainly improve the efficiency of the velocity of
funds in the community. However, not all parties agree on this, in the European Union, the Netherlands
& Poland for example. They are indicated to block the fintech service in the country. This fintech blocking
attempt must be handled explicitly.

The EU considers the Netherlands and Poland to block because of several reports from fintech agencies
in both countries, that they have difficulties in obtaining information about bank customers that they
(customers of the bank) are users of the fintech facility. This is certainly very detrimental to fintech,
because customer information is the main basis of fintech services. The impact of fintech is not able to
expand its business, and impact on the EU backwardness to America and China in terms of fintech
development for the growth of the national economy.

Recognizing the potential fintech for national economic growth, the EU is required to act decisively
against those who are suspected of blocking fintech, whether banks or national industrial associations in
a country (in this case, the Netherlands and Poland).