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Regulatory Ramblings

Reg/Tech Lab - HKU-SCF FinTech Academy - Asia Global Institute - HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech
Regulatory Ramblings
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  • Ep 80 - Breaking Barriers in Global Payments: From Legal Frictions to Digital Rails
    Episode 80 with M. Konrad Borowicz, Syed Musheer Ahmed and Monica Jasuja 🎧  In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, we explore two transformative conversations shaping the future of global payments. From Swift’s bold move into tokenized finance to the legal complexities of cross-border payment systems, this episode dives deep into the forces redefining financial infrastructure.Segment 1: Is Swift Breaking the Wall Between Traditional Finance and DeFi? Swift - the backbone of international finance - has announced initiatives to upgrade its existing rails while building new digital rails for tokenized assets. What does this mean for the convergence of TradFi and DeFi? Our guests unpack the implications of blockchain adoption by regulated institutions, the rise of stablecoins, and the shift from messaging to settlement. They also debate whether blockchain truly solves correspondent banking inefficiencies and how financial inclusion fits into this evolving landscape.Segment 2: Extraterritorial Frictions on Cross-Border Payments Laws Cross-border payments are not just a technological challenge - they are a legal and geopolitical puzzle. Dr. M. Konrad Borowicz discusses his recent paper presented at the European Central Bank’s Legal Research Program Seminar, which examines frictions arising from settlement finality, data protection, AML/CFT compliance, and governance. We explore models of FX interlinking - bilateral links, multilateral hubs, and direct access - and why none offer a perfect solution. The conversation spans regional payment blocs, sanctions as a driver of fragmentation, and the tension between AML transparency and data privacy under regimes like GDPR. Konrad also shares why instant payment systems may hold more promise than stablecoins for lawful, efficient cross-border transfers.Key Themes:Swift’s blockchain-based settlement and tokenization strategyTradFi–DeFi convergence and the role of stablecoinsLegal frictions in linking global payment infrastructuresRegionalization vs. globalization in payment systemsSanctions, sovereignty, and the geopolitics of financeData privacy vs. AML compliance in cross-border transactionsThe promise of instant payments for retail usersSyed Musheer Ahmed is a fintech leader with 18+ years in capital markets and virtual assets. He co-founded the Fintech Association of Hong Kong and leads FinStep Asia, driving innovation across Asia’s financial ecosystem.Monica Jasuja is Chief Expansion & Innovation Officer at Emerging Payments Association Asia. With 20+ years in digital payments and product strategy, she has led initiatives across global markets to build scalable, consumer-focused solutions.M. Konrad Borowicz is Assistant Professor at Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society. His research focuses on payments regulation and financial law. Before academia, he practiced finance law in London and now publishes widely on cross-border payment systems.The Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.For more details about the authors and links, please visit: hkufintech.com/rrHKU FinTech is the leading fintech research and education in Asia. Learn more at www.hkufintech.com.
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  • Ep 79 - Beyond the Divide: Crypto, Compliance, and the Future of Finance
    Episode 79 with Stanley Foodman and Viktoria Soltesz 🎧 In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, we explore two critical conversations shaping the financial and compliance landscape.Part 1: Viktoria Soltesz on Banking Flows and PaymentsWe kick off with Viktoria Soltesz, founder of PSP Angels and the Soltesz Institute, who explains why businesses must understand banking flows to perform proper due diligence (2:37). Viktoria challenges the notion that blockchain and crypto are the ultimate solution (5:27), stresses the urgent need for financial education (7:23), and highlights why standards and ethics matter in payments (11:43). She closes with her vision for fairer global payment systems (13:38).Part 2: Stanley Foodman on Crypto’s Compliance CrossoverNext, we sit down with Stanley Foodman, CEO of Foodman CPAs & Advisors, to discuss his LinkedIn article on why the line between digital assets and traditional finance no longer exists. Stan shares his journey from Miami’s Cocaine Cowboy era to the crypto frontier (22:05), explains why blockchain is a boon for law enforcement (32:02), and debates public vs. private blockchains (33:53). We then dive into crypto speculation, regulation (41:36), its political influence (50:12), and the compliance priorities financial institutions must embrace—breaking silos (56:20) and managing crypto on the balance sheet (1:05:55).About Our Guests:Viktoria Soltesz is an award-winning payments and banking expert, author of Moving Money – How Banks Think, and founder of PSP Angels and the Soltesz Institute.Stanley Foodman is a CPA, CFE, CAMS-certified forensic accountant and compliance advisor with decades of experience in financial crime, risk management, and regulatory strategy.The Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.For more details about the authors and links, please visit: hkufintech.com/rrHKU FinTech is the leading fintech research and education in Asia. Learn more at www.hkufintech.com.
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  • Ep 78 - How Well Does AML Work? | Spotlight on Rethinking AI Regulation
    Episode 78 with Oonagh van den Berg, Prof. Peter Reuter, and Dr. Mirko Nazzari 🎧 In this episode, returning guest and compliance expert Oonagh van den Berg discusses why current AI regulation approaches fall short, based on her LinkedIn article, “Rethinking AI Regulation: Why Current Approaches Are Falling Short.” She highlights the limitations of fragmented national laws, the need for a global AI rulebook, and the role of public education in shifting from blind trust to informed verification. Geopolitical pressures and coordination challenges further complicate regulation.The conversation then turns to anti-money laundering (AML) with Professor Peter Reuter and Dr. Mirko Nazzari, authors of “How Well Does the Money Laundering Control System Work?” They explore the systemic limits of AML, including over-complex compliance, inefficiencies, and impacts on financial inclusion. The “firehose” of suspicious activity reports illustrates both the potential and challenges of intelligence gathering, often hindered by under-resourced agencies.Reuter and Nazzari emphasize that AML is not just about preventing laundering but targeting predicate crimes. They examine tensions between enforcement, privacy, and effectiveness, and the growing costs and obligations in sectors like cryptocurrency. They also highlight uneven global implementation and the difficulty of reform, despite widespread recognition of system shortcomings.The episode closes with reflections on improving AML through better data, academic research, and collaboration between regulators and the private sector, offering pathways for realistic, evidence-based reform.Podcast Discussion Covers:Oonagh van den Berg: Why Current AI Regulation Approaches Fall ShortCase for a Global AI Rulebook & Public EducationReuter & Nazzari: How Well Does the AML System Work?Simple Schemes, Complex Challenges - The Limits of AMLCompliance Trap & Who Benefits from Broken AML ProcessesScaling Back Enforcement: US Policy Shifts & AML Compliance LimitsFrom Firehose to Insights: Value of AML ReportsAML Overreach, Financial Inclusion, and EffectivenessBeyond the Label: AML as a Tool Against Predicate CrimeTension Between AML Enforcement, Privacy, and Practical EffectivenessReflections on the Global AML System and Path ForwardAbout Our Guests:Oonagh van den Berg – Founder of Raw Compliance, lawyer, and educator with experience across Asia, now based in Braga, Portugal.Dr. Mirko Nazzari – Postdoctoral research fellow in Political Science at Università degli Studi di Sassari, Italy, specializing in AML, cybercrime, and public policy.Professor Peter Reuter – Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, Stockholm Prize in Criminology recipient, and leading authority on financial crime and policy evaluation.The Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.For more details about the authors and links, please visit: hkufintech.com/rrHKU FinTech is the leading fintech research and education in Asia. Learn more at www.hkufintech.com.
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  • Ep 77 - Banks Without Borders: Re-Linking De-Risking, Open Rails | Legal & Compliance Hiring Trends
    Episode 77 with Lotte Schou Zibell, Ian Morrison, and Raoul Montgomery 🎧In this episode, veteran international expert on financial sector development & digital transformation Lotte Schou-Zibell unpacks why correspondent banking links have thinned in smaller markets - and why the fix isn’t “more rules” but smarter, cheaper, more consistent compliance built on shared digital public infrastructure: foundational ID, tiered KYC, interoperable payment rails, straight-through reporting, and utilities multiple banks can use instead of rebuilding controls. Lotte also points to AI-assisted regulatory mapping that lowers the “cost of certainty,” and argues for interoperability via APIs over any single-chain “panacea.” MDBs and partners matter here - funding capacity, aligning standards, and helping restore (and keep) cross-border access.She discussed Root-to-Revenue Bamboo: how geotagged roots plus geospatial mapping and other DPI elements create verifiable, data-rich assets. That alternative data can underwrite inclusive credit (collateral and cash-flow lending to farmers and MSMEs), support carbon credits and climate-linked finance, and feed traceable value chains for housing materials and textiles - turning “root as asset” into bankable livelihoods and climate resilience.We also chat with Ian Morrison and Raoul Montgomery for late summer hiring pulse in legal & compliance. Across London, Hong Kong, and Singapore, hiring cooled over summer and is edging back: banks are freezing mid-junior roles while selectively adding senior, multifaceted leaders to redesign controls, merge compliance/fincrime, and decide where to deploy AI and outsourcing. Outside traditional investment banking, insurance, digital assets/crypto, family offices, private wealth, and consulting show steadier demand. Chinese firms expanding in Hong Kong are lifting the premium on Mandarin and experienced local compliance leadership. Geopolitical risk is being reorganized - not retired - and is increasingly client-facing.Podcast Discussion covers:Late-Summer Hiring Pulse in Legal & Compliance Freeze Below, Hire Above - Geo-Risk Moves Client-Facing Beyond Credentials - Soft Skills for Legal & Compliance Lotte Schou-Zibell, A Veteran’s View on Finance Early Sparks - Crossing Cultures from Sweden to the US and Beyond Why IMF and ADB - Crisis Lessons Meet the Asian Tigers Inclusion to Climate - How Policy and Tech Rewired the System Geotagged Bamboo: DPI, and Inclusive Credit, Root to Revenue for Finance, Housing, ResilienceFrom AML Burden to a Finternet - Genome to New Rails Foundational ID to DPI - Shared Rails and Smarter Compliance to Keep Links Open Beyond the Panacea - From Blockchain Hype to Interoperable Rails Cutting Through the Noise - From Learning to People-First Solutions, and the 5th Asia Finance Forum at ADB ManilaThe Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani. For more details about the authors and links, please visit: hkufintech.com/rrHKU FinTech is the leading fintech research and education in Asia. Learn more at www.hkufintech.com.
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  • Ep 76 - The US GENIUS Act + HK Stablecoin Ordinance | HK Web3 Blueprint
    Episode 76 with Joshua Chu, Syed Musheer Ahmed and Sean Lee  🎧The common theme for this episode is FinTech and Web3 writ large – with an eye towards digital assets and virtual currency.In Spotlight segment, we’ll be speaking with a returning guest and a dear friend of the program – Syed Musheer Ahmed of Hong Kong-based FinStep Asia on the recently disseminated the “Hong Kong Web3 Blueprint: Building a Web 3 International Financial Hub” report. Joining Musheer is Sean Lee, co-lead of Web3 Harbour's Policy Committee and one of the key leaders of the Blueprint taskforce.Following that, we’ll be chatting with local lawyer Joshua Chu on the recently passed US GENIUS Act and what it means for making the US a stablecoin hub. Context and implications:What truly makes a digital-asset hub beyond regulation;How Hong Kong’s Web3 Blueprint prioritizes talent, infrastructure, and market use cases;What the US GENIUS Act and Hong Kong’s stablecoin regime mean for issuance and market structure;Where stablecoins and CBDCs can coexist—and the legal traditions shaping each path;Risks to monitor: speculative excess, meme coins, corporate BTC treasuries.The Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani. For more details about the authors and links, please visit: hkufintech.com/rrHKU FinTech is the leading fintech research and education in Asia. Learn more at www.hkufintech.com.
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About Regulatory Ramblings

Welcome to Regulatory Ramblings, a podcast from the HKU FinTech team at The University of Hong Kong on the intersection of all things pertaining to finance, technology, law and regulation. Hosted by The Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-Standard Chartered FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute and the HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law. Join us as we hear from luminaries across multiple fields and professions as they share their candid thoughts in a stress-free environment - rather than the soundbites one typically hears from the mainstream press.
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