As part of its constant effort to encourage the adoption of technological advancements in the market, the Dubai Financial Services Authority has undertaken an 'exchange of letters' with the Financial Services Agency of Japan, promising to co-operate in the development of financial technology.

The agreement is a token of the keenness of both authorities to foster innovation in the Dubai International Financial Centre and in Japan. Ian Johnston, the chief executive of the DFSA, and Toshihide Endo, a commissioner at Japan’s FSA, signed. Under the terms, and in view of the global nature of innovation in financial services, the regulators will share information on developments in FinTech and ensure the efficient entry of financial innovators into their respective markets.

Johnston said that this agreement was testament to his ambition to sign many such effective FinTech agreements with regulators throughout the globe. It is all of a piece with the United Arab Emirates' National Innovation Strategy which aims to make the jurisdiction a global hub for innovation. Its stated purpose is "to provide a regulatory framework for discussion and a referral mechanism," enabling the regulators to refer financial innovators between their own innovation offices. It also sets out how the authorities plan to share and use relevant information in their respective markets.

A series of other initiatives took place in Japan during the same week to support FinTech developments. A delegation of senior DFSA executives met some FSA men in Tokyo to strike up a collaboration between the regulators regarding crypto-asset developments. The visit also included participation in FIN/SUM, the largest FinTech summit in Japan, which seems to be Japan's version of the British Financial Conduct Authority's 'TechSprint' initiative. The DFSA now has a wide network of agreements with other financial regulators in relation to FinTech, namely the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority, and the Malaysian Securities Commission. In August last year, the DFSA became the first regulator to launch a tailored regime for loan and investment crowdfunding platforms among the states that make up the Gulf Co-operation Council. The DFSA is also planning to co-operate with other regulators to establish a Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), which ought to encourage collaboration and shared experiences in financial innovation.