Digital Financial Services & Innovation Overview
The rapid technological changes provided many opportunities to improve services in various sectors in general and the financial sector in particular, which led the Palestinian Capital Market Authority during the year 2019 to draw up its policy on financial technology and intervention mechanisms to enhance this field in the sectors it supervises, and this was reflected in its five-year strategy For the years 2021-2025, an integrated program has been allocated in the strategy to enhance the use of financial technology in the non-bank financial sector and provide the enabling environment for it.” This resulted in the creation of the Digital Financial Technology Services & Innovation Directorate on the PCMA’s organizational structure and the launch of its work at the beginning of the year 2021.
Based on the modern regulatory and supervisory methods imposed by financial technology, in terms of its nature and non-stereotyping, international practices and recommended guidelines for regulatory bodies to create an encouraging and friendly environment for innovations and solutions based on financial technology, the Capital Market Authority has followed the Test-and-Learn Approach, which is The testing and learning approach, within controls and conditions aimed primarily at protecting consumers’ rights, maintaining financial stability, horizontal expansion of the non-banking financial sectors, and reducing the costs of services and products provided. This requires a handling mechanism by the PCMA that matches the requirements of financial innovations and solutions based on financial technology in addition to the data it imposes, and finding new and flexible mechanisms for dealing with control processes, including conditional no-objection letters for the innovation or idea to enter the experimental stage within specific controls, and conditional and temporary leave until the maturity and completion of the product or innovation and the development of the appropriate legal framework if necessary, and thus the license is granted.
During the first quarter of 2021, the PCMA worked through Digital Financial Technology Services & Innovation Directorate to launch the PCMA innovation platform called “Innovate”, which aims to enhance and facilitate effective communication between the PCMA and owners of innovations and pioneering ideas related to the non-banking financial sector. Implementing the PCMA’s policies and directions aimed at promoting a friendly environment for financial innovations and enhancing financial inclusion by increasing access and use rates for non-bank financial services and products, contributing to financial stability and the integrity of the financial sector and protecting the rights of its dealers. The platform receives many ideas and applications based on financial technology, which qualified a number of after the supervisory guidance and direction within the platform to the pilot phase.
To visit the platform’s website, please click on the following link: www.ebtaker.ps
