Russia’s c-bank launches regulatory sandbox
The platform will be used to test services using innovative financial technologies.
The Central Bank of Russia today announces the launch of a regulatory sandbox, which welcomes all entities that develop or use innovative services whose implementation requires regulatory changes.
The sandbox will work as a platform for modeling the processes of the use and application of innovative financial services, products and technologies. Checks of the positive effects of their implementation will be carried out. Based on the results of the pilot, the service may be approved and then a plan will be elaborated for the implementation of this new service.
The Bank says that any organization that has developed or plans to use an innovative financial service may initiate a pilot on the regulatory sandbox. To do that, it should file an application with the Central Bank. The application should include, inter alia, information about the advantages of the use of the new product for financial market participants, as well as assessment of the impact that such a product might have on the financial market.
The launch of the regulatory sandbox is in line with the key fintech priorities that the Central Bank has set itself for 2018-2020. In a document, published in February this year, the Central Bank said it planned to transform the Russian digital environment for financial services via the development of new infrastructure, including a platform-marketplace for financial products and services, a platform for the registration of financial transactions and a platform based on DLT.
Let’s note that despite the Bank of Russia’s cautious position with regard to cryptocurrencies, the regulator continues to be open towards blockchain. This stance is echoed by other Russian institutions. Russia’s prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, for instance, has been a proponent of blockchain.
The Central Bank continues to co-operate with other institutions to implement the orders of the Russian President Vladimir Putin on amending the Russian legislation so that it reflects the latest trends in the fintech area.
