III. Big tech in finance: opportunities and risks

This year’s BIS Annual Economic Report has a special chapter on the entry into financial services of large technology companies (“big techs”).

The entry of big techs into financial services holds the promise of efficiency gains and can enhance financial inclusion strategies. However, regulators need to ensure a level playing field between big techs and banks, considering big techs’ wide customer base, access to personal data and broad-ranging business models. Big techs’ entry presents new and complex trade-offs between financial stability, competition and data protection.