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On August 8, a meeting took place between European Business Association companies and experts from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) program “Financial Inclusion for Economic Growth in Ukraine,” which is implemented in partnership with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO) and the UK’s Good Governance Fund (GGF), as well as representatives from the National Bank of Ukraine. The discussion focused on the special legal regime “Regulatory Platform” (“regulatory sandbox”), created for testing and launching innovative technological solutions in the financial services sector.<\/p>\n
The Regulatory Platform is an important tool for stimulating innovation in the digital services market, as noted by Vadym Romaniuk, Head of Banking and Finance Law Practice at PwC Legal in Ukraine and Head of the EBA’s Committee on Currency Regulation and Financial Services. Vadym also encouraged market participants who wish to introduce innovative products to engage with the National Bank through this tool.<\/p>\n
According to IFC representatives, the “regulatory sandbox” is a very promising tool for the development of innovation. However, the experts of the program need feedback from businesses to better understand which innovations can be tested through this mechanism, how it will work in practice, and how it can be improved.<\/p>\n
Serhii Shatskyi, a representative of the National Bank, noted that the “regulatory sandbox” also serves as a platform for interaction between market participants and the regulator. The NBU’s goal is to test innovative products and services and lay the groundwork for their implementation.<\/p>\n
IFC Project experts on digital and financial services development, Andrii Derhun and Jos\u00e9 de Barreda, provided a detailed presentation of the tool and its capabilities to the meeting participants.<\/p>\n
Among the platform’s advantages, the experts highlighted the ability to test an innovative product for which there is uncertainty in legislative regulation; a safe testing environment where risks are properly assessed and managed; a means to test new ideas, especially in times of uncertainty; and increased investment attractiveness for innovative companies testing ideas in the “regulatory sandbox.” More than 50 countries worldwide have already successfully implemented this mechanism.<\/p>\n
What does the National Bank offer? The launch of the platform, which created a new mechanism for interaction between the regulator and participants in the financial and payment markets, became possible thanks to the adoption of NBU Board Resolution No. 39 on March 30, 2023. The document provides a special operational regime for platform participants and the ability to test new services for which there is no proper regulatory framework in place, in a highly collaborative environment with the regulator.<\/p>\n
Who can participate in the platform? An authorized participant in the financial or payment market, and any legal entity resident in Ukraine, including individual entrepreneurs, can apply as co-applicants. Additionally, the financial service must be innovative\u2014this could be a completely new product or a fundamental improvement of an existing one.<\/p>\n
The main goals of the “sandbox” include testing the product in real market conditions, ensuring regulatory support for the innovation, and achieving practical results within the platform\u2014testing outcomes can serve as a basis for further decision-making.<\/p>\n