The Czech Republic prioritises unleashing the potential of data in financial services and boosting financial innovation

The Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic has launched today a project to unlock the potential of FinTech applications and the use of data in financial services in the Czech Republic.

The project is financed by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) and implemented by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in cooperation with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM).

The project will encompass a feasibility study on the potential of data in financial services and the possible establishment of a sandbox in the Czech Republic to allow FinTech innovation on the basis of data sharing and usage.

On this occasion, the Deputy Finance Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr Jiří Georgiev, brought together representatives of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, the Czech National Bank, the European Commission, the OECD and industry associations to collectively kick-off the project.

Deputy Finance Minister Georgiev stated that “the Czech financial authorities understand the priority of fostering FinTech innovation in Czech Republic, as a way to drive productivity gains, create jobs and promote economic growth, encourage competition in financial services, but also as a way to allow consumers better control and better use data potential”, highlighting that “this project shall bring resources to unleash wide scale of data usage for our citizens, financial markets, and our economy”.

Director-General Mario Nava recalled that the European Commission has long recognized the critical importance of digitalisation. He stated that “FinTech is an important tool to improve the efficiency of the financial sector, all the more so in the context of the digitalisation trend and of the Covid-19 pandemic. The objective of this project is to contribute to the creation of an incentive ecosystem for FinTech, for start-ups and incumbent firms”. He also added that DG REFORM is launching this year a Supervisory Finance Digital Academy with more than 20 supervisory authorities of the EU, of which the Czech National Bank.

Nava also highlighted that “further promotion of FinTech innovation has the potential to provide important benefits to the Czech economy. The sandbox will foster a better use of financial services by all economic actors, then enabling a significant growth potential for these markets, while regulating them, ensuring consumer protection, market integrity and financial stability”.

The OECD Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Carmine Di Noia welcomed the project and its aim to foster FinTech innovation, stating that “the project will support policies that promote FinTech innovation with a focus on data, that maximises the benefits of the digital transformation for  the Czech economy, while managing the risks and unintended consequences for financial markets, consumers, and the economy. Sandboxes across Europe and the world have proven to be one important avenue for financial authorities to accompany the development of innovative financial solutions in a safe and controlled manner”. 

Department Director of Financial Markets III, Alex Ivančo, highlighted that “unleashing the potential of data is the way for the Czech Republic and Europe to thrive in this new digital era”.

The development of the FinTech sandbox features as a milestone of the Digital pillar of the Czech National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which is focused on digital technologies and aims at creating sandboxes in regulated sectors in line with EU priorities. Its successful completion will have a significant importance from political, economic and social perspectives, contributing to the top EU priorities – Green and Digital Transition.