National Bank of Ukraine launching regulatory platform to test innovative products

MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is launching a regulatory platform (sandbox) for testing innovative products, services, technologies and instruments, Ukrainian media reported citing the regulator's website.

The regulatory platform will allow authorized providers of financial or payment services to test new modern and innovative financial and payment products in real market conditions in a limited environment and under the supervision of the regulator (in particular, with the establishment of certain restrictions and quotas), it said.

"The main task of the regulatory platform is to promote the development of fintech and innovative products on the financial and payment markets. At the same time, its launch should promote stronger competition, improve the quality of providing financial and payment services and enhance the dialogue between the regulator and market participants, in particular, for the development of fintech regulation," NBU Deputy Governor Alexei Shaban was quoted as saying in the statement.

At the same time, it is emphasized that only those market participants that have already been authorized as providers of financial or payment services in line with Ukrainian law will be able to participate in the testing.

Prior to testing, an innovative product should undergo a preliminary assessment by the regulator, and an applicant should agree on the procedure for testing itself to obtain the status of a participant on the regulatory platform.

The applicant also has to meet a number of requirements, in particular, that it does not have any similar products or that the proposed product substantially surpasses the characteristics of the already existing ones. At the same time, the introduction of the product should not result in violations of the legislation on the protection of economic competition, the regulator said. A mandatory condition is the absence of bans on the introduction of the relevant product and the regulations in the Ukrainian legislation, which prevent this product from being introduced on the market outside the regulatory platform.