Denis Pitcher, FinTech Advisor to Bermuda with Matt Bird at World Economic Forum (DAVOS)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Developed comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets
• Government certifications being developed working with consent, data protection & cyber security
• Digital Identity Issuance Act reduces compliance costs & opens doors for smaller businesses

FULL COVERAGE

• Watch complete coverage of the World Economic Forum

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS: Denis Pitcher, FinTech Advisor to Bermuda interview with Matt Bird

Matt Bird (Show Host, Traders Network Show):00:00    

Welcome back to the Traders Network Show broadcasting worldwide on Equities.com and it’s syndicated partners. I’m your host, Matt Bird. We’re here in Davos, Switzerland, at the 2019 World Economic Forum. And my next guest is the fintech advisor to the premier of Bermuda, Denis Pitcher, welcome to the show. 

Denis Pitcher (FinTech Advisor, Bermuda): 00:18

Thank you very much. 

Matt Bird (Show Host, Traders Network Show): 00:21

So, Bermuda seems to be the talk of the town, at least here in Davos. I mean, you guys have a number of FinTech initiatives going on. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about what you’re doing on the advancement of, of some of that stuff. 

Denis Pitcher (FinTech Advisor, Bermuda): 00:31

Okay. So we’re in Davos last year and that kind of set the foundation of our progress in this industry. So we invited people to the Island and they came within the next week of Daovs. And within five months we launched a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets that kind of set the foundation. We’ve got companies come to the Island, we’ve got a lot of interests, and now what we’re looking to do is set that next level. So we’re thinking and we’re looking at what we can do and our next idea that we want to get feedback on or attract people to work with us on is a digital identity issuance act or platform.

Matt Bird (Show Host, Traders Network Show):00:48    

Now I, if I remember correctly, somewhere the in-middle of 2018 you guys did make an announcement on, on something regarding that on the EID side, is that correct? 

Denis Pitcher (FinTech Advisor, Bermuda): 01:19

Yeah. So, we intended to launch our own EID platform. And we’ve selected vendors to do that. But what we’ve realized in working through that is that aligning with just one vendor is great for government solution, but it doesn’t really solve the KYC and AML compliance problems that the industry faces. So what we want to do is turn around and come up with a regulatory framework that allows issuers of identity and testers of identity to be able to be certified by the government via a comprehensive regulatory framework that works with consent and data protection and cybersecurity so that we can turn around and say to companies that come to the Island, if you’ve worked with a validated entity from your KYC and AML compliance, you can perhaps get a token that represents that your identity and have it valid across any digital asset business on the side.

Matt Bird (Show Host, Traders Network Show):02:14   

That said, trickle down economic development structure of the framework. 

Denis Pitcher (FinTech Advisor, Bermuda): 02:18

Absolutely. There’s so much siloed restrictions in terms of adhering to compliance costs that it’s really difficult for small businesses to break into this industry and new players to break into the industry because of this barrier. So the more we can reduce those costs and the more we can make it easier to break into this industry, the better it’s going to grow. And the better it’s going to be for Bermuda. 

Matt Bird (Show Host, Traders Network Show):02:39

You know what? We have a cut to a commercial break here in just a few seconds. I want to dig into, I would like to have you back here again. So listen, we’re going to cut to a commercial break. You’re watching the Traders Network Show. We’ll be right back with Denis Pitcher. Don’t go away.