In an op-ed appearing in The Hill on November 28, 2018, NCLC Associate Director Lauren Saunders discusses “Fintech sandboxes.” The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently proposed a disclosure sandbox, the Arizona attorney general has adopted a fintech sandbox, and both legislators and regulators in Washington are discussing ways to use sandboxes to promote financial innovation.
But we cannot let the dazzle of shiny new innovations blind us to the need for consumer protection rules and the potential down side of new approaches, which are often not apparent at first.
A sandbox is a safe place to play, outside of the real world, and outside of real-world rules. Sandboxes are great for little children. But letting companies “play” in the real world, taking real money from real people and exposing consumers to real risks without following the rules, is not child’s play.
Lauren Saunders, associate director at the National Consumer Law Center.
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