Page 22 - RBI FIntech Atlas 2018

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Spotlight Czech Republic
Old town square in Prague, Czech Republic
2018 saw a series of major developments in the
Czech Republic, where ntechs are regulated in line with EU legislation. The crucial PSD2 EU directive was implemented, Banka Creditas introduced the rst multi- banking app Richee (with other innovation-oriented banks expected to follow) and Spendee became the rst ntech to acquire a PSD2 licence.
The Finance Ministry takes a more proactive and innovative approach to regulation than the more cautious Czech National Bank (CNB). Indeed, following the public consultation on ntechs published by the European Commission in 2017 the CNB stated that ntech regulation was not a priority. As a result, ntechs tend to try to accelerate the process by contacting banks directly regarding their APIs.
The desire for simpli cation led to the creation of the Czech Fintech Association. This aims to act as a go-between, a single point of contact for innovators, investors, regulators, policy makers and commercial partners. In 2018 the work of the association led the Czech Government to show serious interest in the
ntech scene for the rst time via the Blockchain Republic initiative. The signed memorandum of this of cial cooperation between ntechs and the state covers such activities as attracting investment and talent, modernising bureaucracy and creating an innovation hub.
Another government initiative is the project Sonia. Here, major banks and the state will work together to increase use of the digital state portal through simpli ed access based on banking veri cation. Changes in the system and, hence, the ntech environment are accelerating.
This approach, which seeks to optimise synergies with both EU regulations and the emerging private ntech market, has the potential to create a transparent, ef cient, cooperative and, therefore, successful system.
The country has 52 incubators and accelerators including Rockaway, Creative Dock and StartupYard, the most active, which has invested €9M in around 50 companies.