Page 38 - FintechAtlas2019

38
Cosmin Cosa, Co-founder & CEO of Finqware Raluca Micu, Head of the Payments Oversight Division of the National Bank of Romania
Romania
The Open Banking trio: fintechs, regulators and banks
Open Banking is attracting new players into the financial market and will create endless options for customers.
The Romanian fintech market is growing and now has a stronger voice thanks to the establishment of the Romanian Fintech Association in January 2020. Other companies
are expected to join the game. Three main players, who have been here since the beginning, are defining the ground rules and making decisions that will influence the newcomers. This article explains how the Open Banking trio – fintechs, banks and the national regulator – sees the challenges and opportunities created for each of them by the Open Banking environment.
In this 360-degree dialogue, Cosmin Cosma of Finqware and Tudor Stanciu of the Romanian Fintech Association represent the fintechs; Raluca Micu, Head of the Payments Oversight Division
of the National Bank of Romania (NBR), represents the national regulator and Vlad Stănilescu, Chief Digital Officer of Raiffeisen Bank Romania, offers the perspective of one of the top five banks in the local market.
What opportunities are being created for fintechs
by Open Banking?
Stanciu: Fintechs are best positioned to open new markets and
find ways in which individuals can put their money to good
use. Specifically, I expect to see tools such as alternative asset investments and products that generate a better ROI than traditional financial products.
Cosma: Seeking to disrupt the market is a high-cost and inefficient strategy as well as an old-fashioned approach to the strategic positioning of fintechs.
In the Open Banking era, fintechs should look at the financial services market in order to spot the gaps in which the exchange of data via APIs could create opportunities for providing new services and generating value. Instead of competing with the banks, fintechs should develop the complementary innovations and technological capabilities that will contribute to the creation of a new data-driven financial ecosystem.
Micu: Fintechs can become new players in the payments market or collaborate with banks in developing and offering new products or services. Fintechs are more agile and, with their state-of-the-art technologies, have the resources to better understand customer needs and develop appropriate solutions.
On the other hand, fintechs must also understand the need to be not only customer-friendly but also secure and develop legal structures that enable them to evolve and add market share quickly.
Stănilescu: Fintechs are already seen as innovators and disruptors in the financial services landscape. The newly created Open Banking context will clearly offer them opportunities to continue enhancing this image as innovators. Access to customer data is a crucial advantage and should be a catalyst as fintechs establish stronger partnerships with the banks that already benefit from a large customer base.
What is the role of the national regulator in the
Open Banking context?
Stanciu: Although entrepreneurs may have learned otherwise in the past, they are now highly unlikely to be able to develop technology- driven financial services without interfacing with the regulator during this product building process. This means that the national