March 25, 2019
Fintech Is Booming, While Posing New National Security Risks for the U.S.
New financial technology—so-called fintech—has rapidly become an important part of the financial industry, from mobile payment systems to cryptocurrencies. But it also represents a new area of national security vulnerability for the United States. The U.S. is a leader in fintech investment and development for now, but other countries are quickly catching up in key areas. U.S. policymakers should act to improve fintech regulations and coordinate a strategy in order to ensure that this kind of technology remains a strength, rather than a vulnerability, for the U.S.
There has been a huge investment boom in fintech in recent years, with an estimated $111 billion or more invested globally in 2018, according to research from KPMG. Fintech has seen more mainstream use, especially in countries like China, where mobile payments now outstrip any other country in the world—there were over $17 trillion in such payments in China in 2017—and where a range of fintech products are widely used, from peer-to-peer lending platforms to app-based insurance and investment products.
Read the full article in World Politics Review.
More from CNAS
-
South Korea Commits to Combatting Increased Ransomware Attacks
Commentary
South Korea and like-minded countries should continue to invest in joint cyber operations and criminal investigations to expand their jurisdictional reach and enforcement capa...
By Jason Bartlett
-
Reassessing Counter Terrorism Financing in a Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan
Commentary
The Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan set back decades-long efforts to integrate Afghanistan into the international community....
By Alex Zerden
-
China Is Making Smart Money
Commentary
As a U.S. national security matter, China’s progress in the digital renminbi is more about China’s ambition to harness data than it is about advancing its currency....
By Yaya J. Fanusie & Emily Jin
-
Banished Soviet-Koreans Helped Build North Korea
Commentary
While Pyongyang touts its reclusive nature as an act of national pride free from foreign influence, the reality is that a collection of outsiders – Soviet-Koreans, in particul...
By Jason Bartlett
