Skopje, 24 April 2023
At its meeting held on 19 April 2023, the Committee for support of the development of innovations in the financial system in the Republic of North Macedonia (the Fintech Sector Committee) adopted the Fintech Strategy for financial regulators, which aims to provide conditions for support of innovations in the field of finance, taking into account the protection of consumers and investors and the stability of the financial system.
The Fintech Strategy for financial regulators refers to the regulatory aspects related to the transformation of the financial system led by the fintech sector. It includes recommendations for regulators whereby their successful implementation requires a coordinated approach of regulators and an appropriate mechanism for monitoring of the recommendations from the Fintech Strategy for financial regulators.
The adopted strategic document paves the way for deriving the benefits from the development of innovations of finance, which are multiple. According to the Report of the EU’s Regulatory Obstacles to Financial Innovation Expert Group (ROFIEG), the development of innovations in the field of finance may lead to lower prices of financial services, wider range of products and services, greater choice for consumers and companies, better financing opportunities, more efficient regulation and harmonization with the best international practices.
The Fintech Strategy for financial regulators will contribute to flexibility and openness for change in the regulatory framework in order to encourage competition in the interest of consumers and to further increasing the resilience and stability of the financial system. Using innovative fintech solutions will lead to higher operational efficiency, better risk management and better regulatory harmonization of financial institutions.
The adopted Fintech Strategy for financial regulators is the first part of the National Fintech Sector Strategy which was discussed at the meeting of the Fintech Sector Committee. This is a completion of the activities undertaken by the National Bank in the past years conducted through an EFSE project launched in 2018, aimed at setting the bases for transformation of the financial system in the RNM led by the fintech sector. In 2019, the National Bank formed a working group on financial technologies with experts from various organizational units, which created the Innovation Gateway, as a platform for communication with the innovative business community. In October 2020, the National Bank conducted a survey to comprehensively investigate the ecosystem in which 220 respondents from different segments of the ecosystem participated, whereby as much as 90% of them confirmed the need for transformation of the financial system in the RNM, led by the fintech sector. At the same time, the National Bank and the Ministry of Finance were actively involved in the process of harmonization of the regulation on payment services and payment systems, which also promotes technological innovations in the field of finance. On the initiative of the National Bank, and in order to create conditions for support of the development of the fintech sector, the financial regulators - the National Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Agency for Supervision of Fully Funded Pension Insurance and the Insurance Supervision Agency, last year concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation, which set a system through which regulators act in a coordinated manner, each within its competence, with respect to the implementation of the Fintech Strategy for financial regulators.