Home / Publications / FinTech Committee: digital experimentation in the...

FinTech Committee: digital experimentation in the banking, finance and insurance sectors

The Ministerial Decree no. 100 of 30 April 2021, which entered into force on 2 July 2021, regulates the functioning and the duties of the FinTech Committee established in 2018 by the Department of the Treasury and codified by Decree-Law no. 34 of 30 April 2019 (the so-called “Crescita” Decree).

The Committee shall have the followings tasks:

  • to observe and monitor the evolution of FinTech at the national, European and international level in order to identify goals, define programs and put in place actions to promote the FinTech’s development;
  • to facilitate contacts between the sector’ operators and the institutions and authorities;
  • to encourage discussions about areas of potential risks;
  • to promote and coordinate collaboration and information exchange activities with the relevant foreign institutions;
  • to carry out activities regarding FinTech experimentation.

This last point is undoubtedly the most important and innovative aspect of the Decree at stake. In fact, Italy establishes and regulates for the first time a regulatory sandbox where banking, financial and insurance operators can test innovative digital solutions, benefit from a simplified transitional regime and from a constant dialogue with the supervisory authorities: Bank of Italy, Consob, IVASS.

To be admitted to it, the projects:

  • shall be innovative, sufficiently advanced and economically sustainable;
  • shall require derogation from law and regulations of supervisory activities or experimentation and joint examination by the supervisory authorities;
  • shall add value in terms of benefits for the final customer and of efficiency of the banking, financial and insurance systems, their regulations and their internal processes.

The applications must be submitted to the competent supervisory authorities; the latter shall by September 2021 provide instructions regarding the timing and the criteria for the admission to the experimentation.
Completed the preliminary phase, the official register of operators admitted to the experimentation will be published on the website of the Department of the Treasury.

Authors

Portrait ofNicolò  d'Elia
Nicolò d'Elia
Partner
Milan
Portrait ofMarianna Scardia
Marianna Scardia
Milan