ADGM’s Consultation On Proposed Electronic Transactions Regulations

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the award-winning international financial centre located in Abu Dhabi, announced today that it has published a public consultation paper on its proposed Electronic Transactions Regulations aiming at putting parties engaging in electronic transactions at ease in terms of degree of certainty.

While businesses and consumers are adapting to electronic dealings, including online contracting and electronic signatures, legal concepts have traditionally been based on the existence of a tangible or physical medium. Concepts such as a document, an ‘original’ or a ‘signature’ still remain relevant in legislation and need to be considered in today’s ever-changing digital environment, particularly when taking into consideration the impact of COVID-19.

To access the consultation page, please visit the dedicated webpage for the proposed amendments to ADGM commercial legislation. Please provide comments via email to consultation@adgm.com before 14 October 2020.

Sean Edwards, Chair of ITFA comments: “ITFA recently launched the Technology Experts for Regulatory Action (TERA) task force to progress regulatory advocacy with regards to digital practices in trade finance. We recognize the unique challenges of the recent pandemic and the timely opportunity for our industry to adopt more digital technologies. We therefore encourage our 300+ member community to actively participate to ADGM’s consultation.”

André Casterman, Chair of ITFA Fintech Committee added: “Our fintech initiatives on Digital Negotiable Instruments (DNI) and Trade Finance Distribution (TFD) demonstrate that the technology world is ready to deliver new value propositions to trade originators and their clients, in particular SMEs. However, regulatory decisions hold the key to unlock full value from new digital tools and practices. ADGM’s move is the right way forward to make it happen.”

Discover our recent summer news on DNI Initiative and TFD Initiative.