TORONTO, Ontario, Nov. 25, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - The Digital Finance Institute announces its launch to provide thought leadership and regulatory guidance on the global explosion of digital financial technology to ensure that regulatory approaches are balanced to support the growth of fintech innovation, mitigate the financial inclusion problem worldwide and keep women involved in fintech.
"With the evolution of the Internet of Things and Bitcoin for example, fintech is developing at an incredible pace globally and it is important that we start balancing innovation and regulation to ensure that digital fintech can thrive without overly burdensome regulation and without causing more of a financial inclusion problem around the world", says Christine Duhaime, co-founder of the Digital Finance Institute (DFI) and a prominent financial regulatory and counter terrorist financing lawyer in Canada.
"As we add regulatory requirements to financial transactions, including in the digital fintech space, we negatively impact venture capital funding, stifle innovation and force greater numbers of people out of the banking system globally, especially women and people living in poverty. We have already thousands of First Nations people that are financially excluded in Canada alone and that has to be resolved. It's time to go back to the drawing board on financial regulation to achieve a better balance, fix financial exclusion problems and bring women into that dialogue in a meaningful way," she said. "The place to start is with fintech's innovative platforms because they are largely unregulated yet."
"Our aim is to become a globally recognized center of excellence in digital finance policy and regulation and to include ways to address financial inclusion with digital finance, actively linking and supporting industry, government, policy makers, financial regulators and academia through thought leadership and dialogue," says Manie Eagar, co-founder and Chairman of the Digital Finance Institute.
The DFI will be a collaborative enterprise, bringing together participants from academia and the public and private sectors to be the bedrock for global emerging efforts in this critical area.
Co-founders
Christine Duhaime, Co-founder of the Digital Finance Institute, is a financial regulatory lawyer in Canada and an author and international speaker. She is an anti-money laundering specialist with expertise in financial regulation, digital financial services and products (such as Bitcoin), terrorist financing, bribery, money laundering law, sanctions and regulated industries such as banks, money services businesses and casinos. She is the author of the world's first legal text on digital finance and the Co-Chair of the Western Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, and a member of the Judicial Advisory Committee of British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.
Christine Duhaime
(604) 601-2046
Christine@digifin.org
Twitter: @DFInstitute
Manie Eagar, Co-founder and Chairman, has been heavily involved in digital value inter-exchanges, mobile media delivery platforms and digital finance, including cryptocurrency and Bitcoin ventures. He has supported a number of digital currency startups, growth accelerators, mergers and acquisitions, VC tie-ups and alignments with regulatory compliance. He is a director of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, and a member of the Global Bitcoin Alliance and Bitcoin Foundation, respectively.
Manie is a global investment, mergers and acquisitions executive with over 30 years of international experience and deep skills in the startup, investment management and VC space. With Christine Duhaime he founded the DFI to make a vital contribution to the digital finance community globally at every level of its development and deployment and finally integration with the financial and retail ecosystems. Manie has worked extensively in emerging markets and understands the needs of the financially underserved and excluded, and 'underbanked' populations.
Manie Eagar
+1 604-992-1124
http://www.digifin.org
manie@digifin.org
Skype: manieeagar
Twitter: @manieeagar @DFInstitute
This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/11/prweb12352157.htm