Israel Securities Authority announces changes to encourage digital innovation

Israel Securities Authority (ISA) announced regulatory changes to support and accommodate digital market innovation in Israel, writes KFGO.

“The implication is that these platforms will provide a complete digital value chain for investors, from the underwriting stage to settlement and custodial services,” said Anat Guetta, ISA chairwoman during the watchdog’s annual conference.

Guetta believes digital markets open up a great opportunity for the use of biometric technology such as facial recognition to open a digital account for remote trading. This is an opportunity ISA is working on with financial tech companies.

“Users can access digital investment advice for any investment amount, investment vehicle, or market, at any time and from anywhere,” she said.

Israel’s security regulator is slowly working on developing a digital platform for retail brokers to trade in securities and invest in mutual funds.

“Today, the brokerage market in Israel is highly concentrated and entails high costs for retail consumers,” she said. “This move will expose the stock exchange to new players, and we will be working to remove any barriers necessary to drive competitiveness.”

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) recently introduced e-KYC guidelines that include the use of biometric selfie onboarding for remote bank account opening. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also approved remote video-based authentication through Aadhaar for onboarding and to establish identity.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  financial services  |  fintech  |  identity verification  |  Israel  |  KYC  |  remote authentication