The Online Age: The Shift From Traditional Banking to Online Banking in the UK and Its Effect on Applied Regulations

As businesses are actively incorporating technology as means of cost reduction and service provision, financial institutions have lately been one of the most active institutions in utilising information technology (IT) to their advantage. Although technology presented financial institutions with many opportunities and opened the door for a new hybrid sector to be formed, this came with its share of disadvantages one of which revolves around cyber security. Combined with the complex nature of products and services offered online through non-traditional financial institutions, this meant that adjusting the regulatory framework governing such products, services and institutions has now become a must. Since the current regulatory framework applicable on online banking does not differ much from that applied on bricks-and-mortar ones especially in terms of money laundering and deposit protection schemes, this paper recommends a hybrid, tech-centred, regulatory framework that is specifically designed to cater for financial institutions in order to offer users of these platforms higher levels of protection and suggests the creation of a joint regulatory and supervisory body that oversees and regulates activities of FinTechs. Such change should take into consideration the higher risk factor associated with online banking and the nature of service provision. The paper in its unique approach aims to inspire and influence change to further enhance customer protection and service provision of online banks.