Fintech is new and the rules and regulations surrounding it are ever changing, thus I would encourage you to not take a negative approach towards legal counsel.
Start-ups should be reminded that their competition, the well-funded and established financial institutions, are diligently working with regulators to ensure their products are compliant throughout multiple jurisdictions.
The world of finance is and has always been heavily regulated. The fact finance is moving to the digital world, will not reduce the regulations one must comply, but will probably increase the compliance and regulatory standards for Fintech products.
Developers/entrepreneurs should not think that just because it is legal and compliant in your country, it will be compliant everywhere.
If you wish to deploy your product in any of the 195 other countries to reach the nearly 8 billion consumers, you will have to know the rules and regulations of the jurisdiction you hope to operate.
Some Fintech developers/entrepreneurs are fortunate to have progressive regulators which are working closely with the fintech community to create the appropriate legal framework to make fintech a success in their country.
Unfortunately, not all jurisdictions around the world have progressed to this level and are still determining how to regulate fintech.
If you are in the process of developing your product and haven’t taken the time to think about the jurisdictions and their regulations you hope to deploy your product, now is the time.
One step is to easily review the ICLG.com website. This site is an excellent source which lists 59 countries and their Fintech Laws and Regulations and lets you know what regulations and licenses would be needed to operate within that jurisdiction.
As a fintech company you have the opportunity to achieve your goal of disrupting the financial services industry, but you cannot if you don’t know the rules.