La semaine derni\u00e8re, j\u2019ai pass\u00e9 quelques jours a Skopje et particip\u00e9 \u00e0 une conf\u00e9rence internationale intitul\u00e9e \u00ab\u00a0Regulating digital financial services\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong>, organis\u00e9e par l\u2019Alliance des Organisations de Microfinance (Alliance of Microfinance Organizations, MFO), appuy\u00e9e par l\u2019USAID.<\/p>\n Ce n\u2019est pas la premi\u00e8re fois que je me rendais en Mac\u00e9doine du Nord. Il y a exactement deux ans, \u00e0 la fin de notre ann\u00e9e de c\u00e9sure, ma femme et moi avons voyag\u00e9 de Budapest \u00e0 Istanbul, en passant par Belgrade, Skopje et Sofia. Tr\u00e8s impressionn\u00e9s par la richesse de la culture et l\u2019histoire complexe qui caract\u00e9risent cette r\u00e9gion, nous avions alors trouv\u00e9 que les Balkans \u00e9taient uniques et fascinants.<\/p>\n Par exemple, bien que la majorit\u00e9 de sa population ait des origines slaves et des liens ethniques tr\u00e8s forts avec des pays d\u2019Europe de l\u2019Est, l\u2019influence de la Turquie demeure tr\u00e8s forte. En effet, la r\u00e9gion fit partie de l\u2019empire Ottoman pendant plus de 400 ans.<\/p>\n L\u2019h\u00e9ritage culture oriental est bien pr\u00e9sent a Skopje, surtout autour du bazaar, o\u00f9 se trouvent des mosqu\u00e9es, des bains turcs (Hamman) et des caravans\u00e9rails (Han).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ce fut l\u2019occasion de discuter de ce qui avait \u00e9t\u00e9 mis en place jusqu\u2019ici en faveur de l\u2019inclusion financi\u00e8re dans la r\u00e9gion, les obstacles subsistants et les solutions envisageables, ainsi que le r\u00f4le cl\u00e9 que la technologie peut avoir.<\/p>\n L\u2019une des pr\u00e9occupations principales est qu\u2019une r\u00e9glementation peu judicieuse pourrait emp\u00eacher les consommateurs de profiter des avantages de l\u2019innovation en mati\u00e8re de services financiers. Tous les participants \u00e9taient d\u2018accord sur le fait qu\u2019il est urgent de trouver le bon \u00e9quilibre entre une r\u00e9glementation pr\u00e9ventive et le d\u00e9veloppement du march\u00e9. Ne pas en parler n\u2019est plus une option.<\/p>\n Les organisateurs de la conf\u00e9rence (MFO<\/a>) ont invit\u00e9 des r\u00e9gulateurs, des repr\u00e9sentants d\u2019institutions de microfinance (IMF) et des professionnels du secteur, venant de Croatie, de Serbie, du Kosovo, de Bosnie, d\u2019Albanie, de Gr\u00e8ce et e Mac\u00e9doine du Nord.<\/p>\n Les invit\u00e9s sp\u00e9ciaux \u00e9taient en fait des d\u00e9l\u00e9gu\u00e9s des banques centrales, des minist\u00e8res des finances et d\u2019autres autorit\u00e9s de r\u00e9gulations venant des trois pays Baltes, l\u2019Estonie, la Lettonie et la Lituanie.<\/p>\n Les Balkans, qui pr\u00e9sentent de nombreuses et troublantes similitudes avec les pays Baltes, leur accordaient une attention toute particuli\u00e8re, et ce pour quatre raisons.<\/p>\n Premi\u00e8rement, les pays Baltes et les Balkans ont des populations de tailles similaires et des taux de croissance du PIB comparables.<\/p>\n Deuxi\u00e8mement, les deux r\u00e9gions subissent encore de tr\u00e8s lourdes cons\u00e9quences des r\u00e9gimes en place apr\u00e8s la Deuxi\u00e8me Guerre Mondiale.<\/p>\n Troisi\u00e8mement, les pays baltes sont r\u00e9cemment devenus membres de l\u2019UE, tout comme la Croatie. Les autres pays de la r\u00e9gion des Balkans, en particulier la Serbie, l\u2019Albanie et la Mac\u00e9doine du Nord ont commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 prendre les premi\u00e8res mesures qui pourraient leur permettre d\u2019y entrer \u00e9galement.<\/p>\n Plus important encore, les pays Baltes sont leader en mati\u00e8re de digitalisation des services financiers en Europe. Par exemple la Lettonie<\/strong> a mis en place le premier syst\u00e8me de paiements instantan\u00e9s<\/a> de la zone Euro (24\/7\/365) conforme au projet d\u2019Espace unique de paiements en euros (SEPA). Le pays exp\u00e9rimente \u00e9galement un nouveau syst\u00e8me d\u2019\u00e9change de donn\u00e9es Know-Your-Customer (KYC), accessible \u00e0 tous les acteurs du secteur financier, utilisant des donn\u00e9es biom\u00e9triques pour l\u2019identification des clients.<\/p>\n En octobre 2018, la Lituanie<\/strong> a lanc\u00e9 une \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation<\/a> qui permet aux acteurs du march\u00e9 de tester des nouveaux produits de la Fintech, dans un environnement r\u00e9el avec des vrais clients, sous le contr\u00f4le de la Banque Centrale de Lituanie.<\/p>\n L\u2019Estonie<\/strong> a digitalis\u00e9 de nombreux aspects de la vie de ses citoyens, du vote aux ordonnances m\u00e9dicales, en passant par le permis de conduire. Par ailleurs, il est logique que les \u00e9coliers Estoniens soient motiv\u00e9s pour les cours d\u2019\u00e9ducation financi\u00e8re s\u2019ils se font sur une application\u00a0!<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb content_max_width=\u00a0\u00bb1002px\u00a0\u00bb _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.19.17″ background_color=\u00a0\u00bb#f9f9f9″ border_width_all=\u00a0\u00bb1px\u00a0\u00bb border_color_all=\u00a0\u00bb#7a7a7a\u00a0\u00bb border_style_all=\u00a0\u00bbdotted\u00a0\u00bb custom_padding=\u00a0\u00bb5px|5px|5px|5px\u00a0\u00bb content_max_width_last_edited=\u00a0\u00bboff|\u00a0\u00bb]<\/p>\n \nUne \u2019sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation est une plateforme mise en place par les autorit\u00e9s r\u00e9gulatrices des march\u00e9s financiers qui permet aux acteurs priv\u00e9s de tester des innovations dans un environnement contr\u00f4l\u00e9 (et ce avec une autorisation sp\u00e9ciale, parfois limit\u00e9e dans le temps), sous la supervision des autorit\u00e9s r\u00e9gulatrices.<\/p>\n CGAP, Regulatory Sandboxes and Financial Inclusion, Working Paper, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.19.17″]<\/p>\n Les pays des Balkans se dirigent \u00e9galement vers la digitalisation des services financiers, tous de mani\u00e8res diff\u00e9rentes, au vu des particularit\u00e9s de chaque pays.<\/p>\n La Banque nationale de Croatie<\/strong>, \u00e9tant d\u00e9j\u00e0 membre de l\u2019euro-syst\u00e8me, est actuellement bien occup\u00e9e \u00e0 aider les acteurs du march\u00e9 \u00e0 mettre en application la directive sur les services de paiements 2<\/a> (PSD2).<\/p>\n La Banque nationale de Serbie<\/strong>, lance une \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation, et la Banque nationale de Mac\u00e9doine<\/strong> a cr\u00e9\u00e9 un \u00ab\u00a0hub\u00a0\u00bb de l\u2019innovation et coordonne ses actions avec celles des instances r\u00e9gulatrices d\u2019autres pays, avec en ligne de mire l\u2019entr\u00e9e dans l\u2019UE et la directive PSD2 \u00e0 respecter.<\/p>\n La Banque d\u2019Albanie<\/strong>, qui est la seule autorit\u00e9 du pays \u00e0 surveiller et autoriser toutes les activit\u00e9s de pr\u00eat et de paiements pratiqu\u00e9es par les banques et les institutions financi\u00e8res non-bancaires, a r\u00e9cemment publi\u00e9 une nouvelle loi sur le paiement<\/a>. En cr\u00e9ant le concept de service d\u2019initiation de paiement et le service d\u2019information de compte, la loi vise \u00e0 r\u00e9duire les co\u00fbts de transaction et \u00e0 s\u2019aligner sur les r\u00e9glementations europ\u00e9ennes.<\/p>\n Le Kosovo<\/strong> n\u2019est pas aussi avanc\u00e9 dans la digitalisation de son secteur financier, \u00e0 cause de l\u2019instabilit\u00e9 politique, qui emp\u00eache la cr\u00e9ation de nouvelles r\u00e9glementations.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Les principaux challenges que rencontrent les autorit\u00e9s r\u00e9gulatrices sont\u00a0:<\/p>\n D\u2019apr\u00e8s cet article de recherche<\/a>, financ\u00e9 par la fondation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, les \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation, ainsi que d\u2019autres initiatives, tel que les \u2018hub\u2019 de l\u2019innovation, peuvent permettre aux autorit\u00e9s de r\u00e9gulation de r\u00e9pondre aux probl\u00e8mes cit\u00e9s plus haut. Il y a cependant quelques limites \u00e0 prendre en compte, telles que les capacit\u00e9s en mati\u00e8re de r\u00e9gulation, le conservatisme et la transparence.<\/p>\n Mettre en place des \u2018sandbox\u2019 th\u00e9matiques de r\u00e9gulation est crucial pour \u00e9liminer les obstacles r\u00e9gionaux, comme les ressources limit\u00e9es, l\u2019absence de talents locaux dans le secteur des nouvelles technologies et les diff\u00e9rences entre toutes les juridictions.<\/p>\n Mais il va sans dire que des \u2018sandbox\u2019 r\u00e9gionales requerraient d\u2019immenses efforts de coordination transfrontali\u00e8re.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Cr\u00e9er des \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation\u00a0n\u2019est pas suffisant pour encourager l\u2019innovation, r\u00e9duire les co\u00fbts d\u2019exp\u00e9rimentation et ainsi \u00e9viter l\u2019exclusion financi\u00e8re.<\/strong> Il faut en parall\u00e8le mettre en place d\u2019autres syst\u00e8me et les diffuser plus largement. Une \u2018sandbox\u2019 d\u2019industrie<\/strong> pourrait \u00eatre une de ses solutions. Elle diff\u00e8re d\u2019une \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation en ce qu\u2019elle n\u2019implique ni ne fournit d\u2019all\u00e9gement de la r\u00e9gulation, car elle fonctionne en dehors des march\u00e9s.<\/p>\n Innovative finance<\/a>, invit\u00e9 par UK FCA \u00e0 mener une consultation sur le concept de \u2018sandbox\u2019 pour l\u2019industrie de l\u2019innovation financi\u00e8re en 2017, d\u00e9finit une \u2018sandbox\u2019 d\u2019industrie comme \u00ab\u00a0un environnement partag\u00e9 en dehors du march\u00e9, destin\u00e9 au d\u00e9veloppement de nouveaux produits de Fintech, au sein duquel les d\u00e9veloppeurs ont acc\u00e8s aux donn\u00e9es, technologies et services des diff\u00e9rents fournisseurs, et peuvent tester leurs id\u00e9es innovantes et r\u00e9fl\u00e9chir aux challenges rencontr\u00e9s par tout les acteurs\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n Les r\u00e9sultats principaux de la recherche montre qu\u2019une \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation peut permettre d\u2019acc\u00e9l\u00e9rer\u00a0:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lors de ma pr\u00e9sentation, j\u2019ai eu la chance d\u2019expliquer aux autres participants les avantages d\u2019une hypoth\u00e9tique \u2018sandbox\u2019 d\u2019industrie, d\u00e9ploy\u00e9e par l\u2019Open Bank Project (OBP) et assist\u00e9 par Microfinanza.<\/p>\n En 2017, OPB a d\u00e9velopp\u00e9 l\u2019une des premi\u00e8res \u2018sandbox\u2019 d\u2019industrie<\/a>, avec un mix de donn\u00e9es r\u00e9elles et fictives pour le Australian Payment Council (APC). L\u2019APC est une entit\u00e9 de coordination strat\u00e9gique pour l\u2019industrie du paiement Australienne, qui repr\u00e9sente des organisations comme l\u2019Australian Payments Network (APN), diverses institutions financi\u00e8res, et des fournisseurs d\u2019infrastructures de march\u00e9 tels que SWIFT.<\/p>\n Cette \u2018sandbox\u2019 d\u2019industrie et l\u2019\u00e9v\u00e9nement organis\u00e9<\/a> pour son lancement ont rassembl\u00e9 des institutions financi\u00e8res et la communaut\u00e9 Fintech. Un an plus tard, signe que cette initiative a encourag\u00e9 l\u2019innovation, l\u2019APN a financ\u00e9 un nouveau projet\u00a0le New Payment Platfom<\/a> (NPP) Program, qui \u00ab\u00a0permet aux consommateurs, aux business et aux agences gouvernementales australiennes d\u2019effectuer des paiements en temps r\u00e9el entre des comptes ouverts aupr\u00e8s des diff\u00e9rentes institutions participantes<\/em>.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n Le cas Australien peut \u00eatre \u00e9rig\u00e9 comme exemple de bonnes pratiques en mati\u00e8re d\u2019innovation, et cette approche pourrait \u00eatre reproduite dans les Balkans, mais \u00e9galement dans les pays Baltes. On se servant de l\u2019exp\u00e9rience de l\u2019OBP dans le d\u00e9veloppement de \u2018sandbox\u2019 \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9chelle d\u2019une industrie, chaque pays pourrait avoir sa \u2018sandbox\u2019 adapt\u00e9e \u00e0 ses sp\u00e9cificit\u00e9s, pr\u00eate en quelques semaines.<\/p>\n Microfinanza, forte de ses 19 ans d\u2019exp\u00e9rience en mati\u00e8re d\u2019acc\u00e8s aux services financiers, pourrait aider les r\u00e9gulateurs, les IMFs et les entreprises de la Fintech \u00e0 r\u00e9pondre \u00e0 leurs objectifs et \u00e0 mesurer leur impact.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lors d\u2019une premi\u00e8re phase de set-up<\/strong>, Microfinanza et OBP pourraient conseiller les sponsors\/donateurs de l\u2019initiative en leur procurant une liste des participants n\u00e9cessaires et facultatifs, ainsi qu\u2019en leur proposant des formations et des cas pratiques. G\u00e9n\u00e9ralement, un droit d\u2019observation est donn\u00e9 aux autorit\u00e9s r\u00e9gulatrices du pays, et un droit d\u2019utilisation aux IMFs et acteurs de la Fintech. Il est \u00e9galement possible de donner un droit d\u2019observation \u00e0 des organisations de pays \u00e9trangers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dans un second temps<\/strong>, apr\u00e8s le lancement de la \u2018sandbox\u2019, Microfinanza et OBP fourniraient des services d\u2019assistance technique et de formation sur des sujets tels que le d\u00e9veloppement de produits et de services, la gestion de risque ou la protection des donn\u00e9es personnelles.<\/p>\n Lors de la phase finale<\/strong>, apr\u00e8s 12 mois d\u2019exp\u00e9rimentation, les meilleures id\u00e9es et propositions seront test\u00e9es avec de vraies donn\u00e9es, au sein d\u2019une \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation, et mise en oeuvre par les IMFs, en collaboration avec les acteurs de la Fintech.<\/p>\n Pour r\u00e9sumer, gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 l\u2019exp\u00e9rience de Microfinanza dans le domaine de l\u2019inclusion financi\u00e8re et aux technologies du Open Bank Project, l\u2019initiative permettrait :<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Le sponsor\/donateur\u00a0<\/strong>! Cela leur permettrait d\u2019atteindre leur objectifs sociaux.<\/p>\n En soutenant une telle initiative et en encourageant les nouvelles id\u00e9es, le sponsor\/donateur promeut l\u2019innovation dans le domaine de l\u2019inclusion financi\u00e8re. Une innovation qui pourra \u00eatre vectrice de changements sociaux, au b\u00e9n\u00e9fice des personnes et communaut\u00e9s les plus vuln\u00e9rables et des performances sociale, \u00e9conomique et environnementale des institutions de microfinance.<\/p>\n D\u2019apr\u00e8s Bill Gates, \u00ab\u00a0afin de transformer l\u2019attention en action, il faut cerner le probl\u00e8me, trouver une solution et avoir un impact\u00a0\u00bb. Et c\u2019est exactement ce que permet une \u2018sandbox\u2019 \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9chelle d\u2019une industrie.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.17.6″][et_pb_column type=\u00a0\u00bb4_4″][et_pb_button button_url=\u00a0\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/blog\/\u00a0\u00bb button_text=\u00a0\u00bbRetour au blog\u00a0\u00bb button_alignment=\u00a0\u00bbcenter\u00a0\u00bb _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.19.17″ custom_margin=\u00a0\u00bb50px|||\u00a0\u00bb \/][et_pb_comments admin_label=\u00a0\u00bbComments blog\u00a0\u00bb show_avatar=\u00a0\u00bboff\u00a0\u00bb _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.19.17″ global_module=\u00a0\u00bb4879″ saved_tabs=\u00a0\u00bball\u00a0\u00bb \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lorsque l\u2019on parle d\u2019inclusion financi\u00e8re, on pense tout de suite aux pays dans lesquels les populations pauvres sont exclues du syst\u00e8me financier et banquier, comme l\u2019Inde, l\u2019Afghanistan, le S\u00e9n\u00e9gal etc. Il n\u2019est pas n\u00e9cessaire d\u2019aller chercher si loin. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" When the term financial inclusion is mentioned, the first things that come to mind are usually countries were poor people are financially excluded or unbanked like India, Afghanistan, Senegal, etc\u2026 But we don\u2019t really need to look that far from home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Financial exclusion is an issue affecting our small neighbouring Balkan countries too. Reasons behind financial exclusion are several, but among these the lack of a credit background is one of the most common reasons for being excluded in these countries where the financial sector is developed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The paradox with being unbanked due to lacking credit history is that you can\u2019t have a credit history if you\u2019re unbanked. At least, this was true until now. Imagine a Fintech app that could use your smartphone data to create a credit score.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> By calculating how many contacts you have, counting your call logs and calendar events, checking whether you use organisational apps or not, or finding out if you actively try to save money by using supermarket apps, microfinance institutions could determine personality traits (such as impulsiveness or extroversion) and, consequently, an individual\u2019s credit score and probability of default.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Providing financial services to the underserved is an investment that will result in a financial growth that the Balkans have been striving to achieve.<\/span><\/p> I know, I\u2019m probably going too fast, how did I get to this point? Let me take you back to the 5th of September in a city with questionably high statue-person ratio.<\/span><\/p> Last week I spent a few days in Skopje and took part in the International Conference \u201c<\/span>Regulating Digital Financial Services<\/b>\u201d, organised by Alliance of Microfinance Organisation (MFO) and supported by USAID.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> It wasn\u2019t my first time in North Macedonia. Exactly two years ago, towards the end of our gap year, my wife and I travelled from Budapest to Istanbul through Belgrade, Skopje, and Sofia. Positively impressed by the rich culture and complex history that characterise this part of the world, we found that the Balkan countries share some unique and fascinating aspects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> For example, even though the majority of the population has slavic origins and strong ethnic ties with Eastern European countries and Russia, the Turkish influence remains strong. In fact, for more than 400 years, most of the region was under the violent rule of the Ottoman Empire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The oriental heritage in Skopje is tangible. Especially while strolling around the second-largest inhabited bazaar (Baghdad holds first place), which contains mosques, Turkish baths (Hammam) and caravanserais (Han).\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The conference was an important occasion to discuss what has been done so far to tackle the financial inclusion challenges in the region, the current obstacles and what is needed to overcome them, and the key role of technology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The main concern was that ill-advised regulation can deprive consumers of the advantages of financial services innovation. It was commonly shared among all actors that there is a pressing need to find the right balance between precautionary regulation and market development and innovation. Not talking about it is not an option anymore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The conference organiser, <\/span>MFO<\/span><\/a>, invited regulators, the representatives of microfinance institutions (MFIs), and practitioners, from Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The \u201cspecial guests\u201d were the delegates from the central banks, the ministries of finance and other supervisory authorities of the three Baltic states, namely Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The Balkans, who bear an uncanny resemblance to the Baltics, eyed them constantly for four main reasons. First, the Baltic and Balkan states are relatively small countries of similar order, for example, in terms of GDP growth and population.<\/span><\/p> Secondly, both regions share the long-lasting consequences of communist regimes (or its local interpretation).\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Thirdly, the Baltics have recently become members of the EU, while some Balkan states, notably Albania and North Macedonia, are in the process of taking the required steps to do so.<\/span><\/p> Most importantly, the Baltics are leading the digitalisation of financial services in Europe. <\/span>Latvia,<\/b> for example, has started operating the eurozone\u2019s <\/span>first instant payment systems<\/span><\/a> (24\/7\/365) compliant with the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) project. It\u2019s also experimenting innovative Know-Your-Customer (KYC) data-sharing facilities for all financial sector participants, using biometric data for customer identification.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In October 2018, <\/span>Lithuania<\/b> launched the <\/span>regulatory sandbox<\/span><\/a>, which allows market participants to run innovative fintech products or business models in a live environment with real consumers, under the guidance and supervision of the Bank of Lithuania.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Estonia<\/b> digitised many aspects of its citizens lives, ranging from voting routines to pharmacy prescriptions to driving licences. So it\u2019s no wonder that Estonian school children are incentivised to learn about financial education by using banking apps specifically designed for them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> [box type=\"shadow\"]A regulatory sandbox is a framework set up by a financial sector regulator to allow small scale, live testing of innovations by private firms in a controlled environment (operating under a special CGAP, Regulatory Sandboxes and Financial Inclusion, Working Paper, 2017<\/em>\u00a0[\/box]<\/p> The regulators in the Balkan region are also actively approaching digitalisation of financial services, each with a specific approach given the peculiarities of each country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The <\/span>Croatia National Bank<\/b>, being already part of the Eurosystem, is currently busy assisting market participants dealing with the implementation of the <\/span>Payment Service Directive 2<\/span><\/a> (PSD2).\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The <\/span>National Bank of Serbia<\/b> is launching a \u2018regulatory sandbox framework\u2019, while the <\/span>National Bank of North Macedonia<\/b> has established an \u2018innovation hub\u2019 and is extending the cooperation and coordination to other national regulators in view of the future EU membership and PSD2 compliance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The <\/span>Bank of Albania<\/b>, which is the sole authority to licence, supervise and regulate all lending and payment activities performed by banks and non-banking financial institutions, has recently issued a <\/span>new payment law<\/span><\/a>. By establishing the concepts of payment initiation service (PIS) and account information service (AIS), the law aims to reduce transaction costs and to align with EU regulation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Kosovo<\/b>, on the other hand, is still in its early stage also due to its political instability, which is hampering the development of new regulations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The main challenges shared by regulators were the:\u00a0<\/span><\/p> According to <\/span>research<\/span><\/a> funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, regulatory sandbox frameworks and other initiatives, like innovation hubs, can gradually help regulators address the above-mentioned challenges. However, there are certain limits to be taken into account, ranging from regulatory capacity, to conservationism, to transparency.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Moreover, establishing thematic regional sandboxes is crucial in order to remove regional obstacles, which include limited funding, local talent, and varied legal and regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> But, regional sandboxes would undoubtedly require substantial cross-border coordination efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In other words, setting up regulatory sandboxes is just not enough to<\/span> foster innovation<\/b>, <\/span>cut experimentation costs<\/b>, and <\/span>avoid financial exclusion<\/b>. Something more widespread and agile is needed in parallel. An <\/span>industry sandbox (IS)<\/b> could be a viable option. In fact, an IS differs from any form of regulatory sandbox because it\u2019s off-market and does not involve or provide any regulatory relief.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Innovate Finance<\/span><\/a>, who was invited by the UK FCA to chair an industry consultation on an industry-led sandbox for financial innovation in 2017, defines an IS as <\/span>\u201ca shared off-market development environment where developers of Fintech solutions can access data, technologies, and services from different providers in order to validate innovative ideas or address common industry challenges\u201d.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The key findings of the study found that an IS is useful to accelerate:\u00a0<\/span><\/p> During my panel discussion, I had the chance to present the benefits of a hypothetical IS deployed by Open Bank Project (OBP) and fine-tuned by Microfinanza.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Back in 2017, <\/span>OBP deployed one of the first industry sandboxes<\/span><\/a> populated by a mixture of real and simulated data for the Australian Payment Council (APC). APC is the strategic coordination body for the Australian payment industry, representing organisations like Australian Payments Network (APN), various financial institutions, and market infrastructure providers like SWIFT.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> This cross-industry sandbox and its <\/span>launch event<\/span><\/a> brought together financial institutions and the Fintech community. One year later, as evidence of how this initiative fostered innovation, APN sponsored another initiative, the <\/span>New Payment Platform (NPP) Program<\/span><\/a>, which <\/span>\u201cenables Australian consumers, businesses and government agencies to make real-time, data-rich payments between accounts at participating financial institutions.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p> Taking the Australian case as an example of innovation best-practices, this approach could be replicated in each Balkan, but also Baltic, state. Leveraging on OBP experience in deploying ready-to-use IS technology, each state could have its own IS live in a few weeks and filled with country-specific data.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Microfinanza, on the other hand, with more than nineteen years of experience in access to finance and financial inclusion challenges, would support regulators, MFIs, and Fintechs to prioritise their goals and monitor their impacts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In the <\/span>set-up phase<\/b>, Microfinanza and OBP would advise the \u2018sponsors\/donors\u2019 of the initiative by providing a list of participants required to take part and those who would be nice-to-have, as well as by providing training and relevant use cases.<\/span><\/p> Generally, for each IS, \u2018observer\u2019 rights would be granted to the local regulators, while \u2018user\u2019 rights to MFIs and Fintechs. In theory there would also be the possibility to offer \u2018cross-country observer\u2019 rights to foreign organisations too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>[caption id=\"attachment_5043\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"] In the <\/span>second phase<\/b>, i.e. when the Industry Sandbox goes live, Microfinanza and OBP would govern the innovation funnel by providing technical assistance and training for products and services development, risk management best-practises, and consulting on sensitive topics such as data protection. <\/span><\/p> In the <\/span>La conf\u00e9rence<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Des invit\u00e9s sp\u00e9ciaux venant du Nord<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Les Balkans<\/strong><\/h4>\n
En quoi une \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation peut-elle aider\u00a0?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\u2018Sandbox\u2019 d\u2019industrie vs \u2018sandbox\u2019 de r\u00e9gulation\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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En quoi le partenariat entre Microfinanza et l\u2019Open Bank Project peut-il aider\u00a0? <\/strong><\/h4>\n
Une approche en trois temps<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screenshot-2019-09-10-at-15.54.43-300x278.png\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
Dis moi Captain obvious, qui d\u2019autre b\u00e9n\u00e9ficierait de ce projet\u00a0? <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Rich Culture, Complex History - Skopje<\/b><\/h4>
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The Conference<\/b><\/h4>
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The Special Guests from the North\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>
exemption, allowance, or other limited, time-bound exception) under the regulator\u2019s supervision.<\/p>\u00a0<\/h4>
The Balkans<\/b><\/h4>
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How does a regulatory sandbox help?\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>
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Industry sandbox vs regulatory sandbox\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>
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How does the partnership between Microfinanza and Open Bank Project help?<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>
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We envision a three-phase approach<\/b><\/h4>
<\/a> Industry Sandbox Consultation Report, Innovate Finance[\/caption]