The first participant has been admitted to the Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA) regulatory sandbox. Innovative business models subject to financial market regulations can be checked in the sandbox about whether they meet the requirements set out in supervisory law and can be developed until they reach a regulatory mature state. The sandbox is available both to newly founded enterprises (start-ups) as well as financial services providers that are already supervised for investigating and developing innovative FinTech business models. “Our regulatory sandbox is intended to promote innovations, and to thereby strengthen Austria as a financial centre and as an economic location,” the FMA’s Executive Board members, Helmut Ettl and Eduard Müller remarked: “As the supervisor we also gain an better and more profound insight into ongoing technological developments.”<\/p>
Austrian Finance Minister Gernot Blümel is pleased “that this recently created initiative to support digitalisation is gaining acceptance, and that a first FinTech company has been admitted to the sandbox. Especially in times of crisis, digitalisation presents an opportunity for enterprises in Austria, and must therefore also be promoted by the government. The Regulatory Sandbox makes a contribution towards the financial sector, while also creating innovative possibilities for enterprises as well as a broader offering for Austrian consumers.”<\/p>