National Bank Publishes Fintech Strategy

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has published its FinTech strategy entitled ‘Financial innovation and stability’ at a conference held with the participation of the representatives of Hungarian FinTech companies.

The key objective of the first central bank FinTech strategy in the region is to facilitate the spread of competitive and innovative services in Hungary, strengthen the efficiency and stability of the financial system, stimulate the domestic FinTech ecosystem and develop the general financial culture and professional training. In order to achieve these targets the MNB drafted 24 specific initiatives and proposals.

MNB considers it a key priority to facilitate the digitalization of the domestic financial system, to develop the FinTech sector and the general level of financial awareness and professional training. In line with these efforts, the Bank uses various innovative regulatory instruments to contribute to the introduction of financial innovations into the market under safe circumstances and to the wide spreading of their use.

Consistent with all these efforts, MNB says its dedicated executive directorate responsible for the digitalization of the financial system and the development of the domestic FinTech sector was established in May 2019. The tasks of this new unit include the analysis of the future directions of development related to financial system innovation and digitalization, as well as the creation and continuous development of central bank instruments, which support the digital competitiveness of institutions providing financial services. From the supervisory side, the Supervisory Lab for Financial Innovations monitors the international practice of the latest financial market and supervisory technology innovations and proposes their implementation into the domestic supervisory practice.