Ewald Nowotny is open to new technologies in the financial sector, but warns for strong regulation. “New technologies can support but not replace financial institutions, and it is important to remember that financial institutions guarantee stability,” said the head of the National Bank on Monday at the opening of an international fintech conference.
About the measures
“Our focus is on the fin, not the tech, so we should focus on regulatory measures,” he said. How they could look like in Austria was outlined by Harald Waiglein, head of the section “Economic Policy, Financial Markets and Customs” in the Ministry of Finance. Regulatory sandboxes are designed to allow fintech start-ups to test their business models under the supervision of the Ministry of Consumers. In this protected environment, regulatory measures should be developed without slowing down innovation dynamics. For data security and against money laundering, a central platform for cybersecurity will be developed in the near future, in which personal data of various banks will be collected. However, the “Know Your Customer” platform is still in the planning phase.
Kick-off for five conferences
Today’s event marked the beginning of a five-part series of international conferences organized by the IMF and the World Bank, in which experts from the public and private sectors should exchange views with policy makers. The focus is on the implementation of the “Bali Fintech Agenda”. This Action Plan of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank aims to help countries create institutional frameworks that enable them to leverage new technologies in the financial sector.
The fintech industry is growing rapidly – digital technology companies in the field of lending, payment services or asset management have changed the established financial sector in recent years. As a result of this development, in October last year, the IMF and the World Bank prepared their action plan to promote technological innovation in the financial sector.
Also published on Medium.