The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is launching a new initiative to support and encourage innovation in financial services.
Through the IDFPR’s Financial Innovation Initiative, the organization will hold regularly scheduled office hours at Illinois-based fintech and innovation incubators to provide informal assistance and guidance.
IDFPR Secretary Bryan Schneider sees the project as an opportunity for the state’s regulator to serve the changing needs and preferences of customers, banks and the financial sector.
“As a regulator with a competitive objective, IDFPR seeks an active role in efforts to ensure Illinois’ regulatory approach is in step with digital innovation,” Schneider said, speaking at Chicago’s Fintech Week 2017 conference. “With the launch of our Financial Innovation Initiative, we endeavor to support fintech businesses through regular engagement and education, while gaining real-time insight into how current laws and regulations are impacting these emerging technologies.”
In the coming months, IDFPR will roll out additional projects under the Financial Innovation Initiative, including a dedicated “RegHub” web portal that provides innovators with easy access to resources needed to effectively navigate state regulatory obligations and training resources for staff. IDFPR also plans to explore opportunities to drive regulatory collaboration and uniformity with other federal, state and international regulators.