The European push towards a capital markets union, for example, reflects not only the need for increased cross-border risk-sharing in a currency union, but also the hope that deeper and better-integrated equity markets will support innovation and productivity growth in the European Union.29 This also includes making new innovative financial technologies available to firms and ensuring they are as safe as conventional technologies.
Europe is spearheading this process. Europe’s Payment Services Directive (PSD2), for example, has been revised to introduce more competition in financial intermediation by requiring banks to share account information with new contenders. China, of course, is a prime example of new financial technologies supporting growth in the transition towards higher income levels.