Page 24 - FintechAtlas2019

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Hungary
High expectations regarding a unified instant payment system
MNB, the Central Bank of Hungary Anikó Szombati, Chief Digital Officer of the Central Bank of Hungary
Hungary has a flourishing fintech scene with around 120 players, mostly early-stage B2B companies. In 2018, MNB, the central bank, launched its Innovation Hub to guide innovators in developing new products and its Regulatory Sandbox to support the market entry of fintech solutions. In 2019, two central authorities – a government organisation and the central bank – published their fintech strategies, while the Banking Association released a list of areas where further regulatory support could help enhancing digitalisation.
Three of the largest banks (OTP Bank, MKB Bank, K&H Bank) have launched fintech incubation and mentoring programmes while K&H Bank also organised a hackathon. The programme run by MKB Fintechlab also provides financing. The Elevator Lab by RBI has been actively screening the Hungarian fintech market and chose Family Finance as one of the winners of the 2019 Elevator Lab Challenges. Over 50 companies from Hungary and other countries of the CEE region have participated in these programmes since 2017. 90% of these are early-stage companies and 60% are non-Hungarian.
Financing opportunities for fintechs are expanding. In total, eight Hungarian venture capital firms and MKB Fintechlab have invested in 34 fintechs.
Four Hungarian startups were awarded Account Information Service Provider (AISP) licences in 2019. These will offer
API aggregation, Personal Financial Management, loyalty programmes and billing services. The multi-banking services offered by K&H Bank mark the start of Open Banking in the country and this will grow as further Hungarian banks follow in 2020.
2019 saw a significant expansion of international fintechs in Hungary. To date, they have issued over 300,000 cards. By the end of the year these cards were being used by 5% of active adult bank customers.
The launch of an instant payment system on 2nd March 2020 was a groundbreaking moment for the country’s payment system. The new system is unique because membership is mandatory for all Hungarian banks.
All in all, Hungary has seen a number of promising moves that will significantly boost the early-stage fintech ecosystem over the course of the next two to three years.