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FSRA CALLS FOR FINTECH INNOVATORS

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ZULWINI – Technology innovators with the aim of introducing enhanced financial services have been invited by the regulator to participate in the Fintech Arch.

The Financial Services Regulatory Agency (FSRA) of Eswatini invites innovators to participate in their inaugural FinTech Arch. The Arch is a controlled environment that offers regulatory relief for participants to test innovative products and services within predefined parameters. It is managed by the FinTech Arch. It will be open until January 31, 2023. To acquire these services, innovators were advised to submit application to the regulator before the end of January. FSRA said the main purpose of the Arch was to assist innovators with their Fintech ideas to access financial services and inter alia ensure financial inclusion.

Importance

FSRA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ncamiso Ntshalintshali mentioned that they attached great importance to innovation; he said the end of the pandemic shaped the social and economic reality, primarily the importance of digital operating space, in which knowledge, research, technology and innovation were the main drivers of prosperity and financial inclusion. The CEO said digital transformation can strengthen competition and the supply of innovative products and services, often across borders.

“This means that businesses in smaller countries like Eswatini can penetrate international markets and obtain financing for their innovative ideas. Furthermore, the new financial technology ecosystem can function as an incubator for cooperation between incumbents and start-ups, benefitting all participants across financial sectors,” he added. Ntshalintshali mentioned that the Fintech Arch was part of the regulators’ consultations to gauge FinTech advancement and the needs of innovators in anticipation of a regulatory sandbox for the non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) sector.
He said it would explore the concepts and the evolution of FinTech in the Eswatini NBFI landscape, by connecting FSRA to industry innovators in technological and digital information and transformation.

“The authority will follow a two phased approach in determining the innovation facility in NBFI; first to carry out a study to learn about market developments and determine if there are regulatory barriers to innovation. “Based on the results of the study, the authority will move to the second phase, which is the determination of the validity of developing the sandbox framework or the adoption of another type of innovation facility,” he added. Speaking during the official launch of the Arch, Mathalea Lukhele, FSRA Manager of Research, Policy and Innovation said applications would be assessed against the Arch’s eligibility criteria.

Tested

She said the innovation to be tested must be intended for deployment in the Eswatini market and it must not clearly fit within the existing regulatory framework or challenges same. “The innovation must be beneficial to consumers or the market at large for example, for business to consumer companies  lower prices, increased competition, improved access/financial inclusion; for business to business companies – lower costs, increased efficiency, improved regulatory compliance,” she said.

The manager also mentioned that the applicant must have a clear and detailed test plan, which includes clear objectives and success criteria for testing, timeline and milestones for testing, identification of regulatory requirements and/required regulatory relief. Centre of Financial Inclusion (CFI) CEO Nomcebo Hadebe added that FSRA should consider certain key things for financial inclusion.

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