Page 39 - FintechAtlas2019

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Tudor Stanciu, Romanian Fintech Association
regulator must be open to talking to entrepreneurs about their new business models and technologies. The information gained from such meetings will help regulators to implement or adapt existing regulations in order to reflect this ever-changing landscape.
Cosma: Innovators who want to make the world of finance a better place require a context in which they can test their visions. The NBR’s Fintech Innovation Hub and Regulatory Sandbox initiatives are designed to answer this need. The active role of the national regulator is to create a friendly environment for innovation.
Micu: The role of the national regulator is to ensure the security and efficiency of payment instruments and solutions in order to avoid systemic risk and maintain public confidence in the financial system. Of course, regulators are also interested in promoting and supporting new players, but this is secondary to the main objective of guaranteeing security and efficiency.
Stănilescu: Open Banking brings new players to the financial landscape. The most important role of the regulator will be to
help define a set of rules that are both flexible enough to foster continuous innovation and rigorous enough to ensure stability and, subsequently, to ensure that everyone respects them. It is essential to strike the right balance between TPP-led innovation and the secure and safe environment provided by the banks.
What new features will banks add to their products
and services in the Open Banking context?
Stanciu: I hope to see commercial banks testing more products
the way most startups do: on limited numbers of customers and by implementing technology in new ways. One area in which banks should be well-positioned to benefit from the trust that customers place in their brand is the provision of better investment tools for the average potential individual investor. As it becomes clear how much
Vlad Stănilescu, Chief Digital Officer of Raiffeisen Bank Romania
value can be leveraged from transaction data, I also envisage some banks becoming hubs for operations involving the flow of money.
I hope that banks will understand that employing additional pairs
of eyes (specialist startups) to examine certain datasets can create solutions for both existing and unknown needs.
Cosma: Banks will leverage Open Banking data in two main ways: first, to provide a better user experience for customers who can use all their accounts in one app; second, to build better risk scorecards and provide improved loan offers, due to the fact that they now have access (where consent has been given) to a broader overview of customer data and behaviour.
Micu: The strategies of banks will change to meet the needs of their customers. They will become more efficient (in terms of both cost and time) and offer customer-friendly and innovative solutions. They will also develop customer profiling with the aim of offering them what they need, when they need it.
Stănilescu: Competition will drive the creation of a frictionless experience for customers that allows them to access all their accounts in one app. The focus will switch from a complex range of features, services and products to a setup in which a customer’s specific needs are met with minimal effort and complexity. Truly understanding customer needs and leveraging data to provide customised, contextual and coherent products and services will be drivers of future growth.
Even if their roles and objectives in the Open Banking context sometimes vary, fintechs, regulators and banks know that collaboration and dialogue are essential to the creation of a customer-friendly and, most important of all, secure and open financial ecosystem.