Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Saudi G20 Presidency and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub on Wednesday launched the G20 TechSprint Initiative to highlight the potential for new technologies to resolve regulatory compliance (RegTech) and supervision (SupTech) challenges.

The BIS Innovation Hub, through its Singapore Center, and the Saudi G20 Presidency have published high-priority RegTech/SupTech operational problems and invite private firms to develop innovative technological solutions. The problem statements identify challenges in regulatory reporting, analytics, and monitoring and supervision, and have been developed from submissions received from Financial Stability Board (FSB) member jurisdictions.

The hackathon-style competition is also supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the FSB, API Exchange (APIX), and the RegTech for Regulators Accelerator (R2A).

“TechSprint encapsulates one of the core principles of the BIS Innovation Hub, which is to develop public goods in the technology space to enhance the functioning of the global financial system,” said Benoît Cœuré, head of the BIS Innovation Hub.

Commenting on the launch from the Saudi G20 presidency, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, Ahmed Al-Kholifey, said: “Alongside the BIS Innovation Hub, we look to the global fintech community to help mobilize effective solutions to pressing financial regulatory and supervisory challenges, including by supporting regulatory and supervisory responses against the COVID-19 pandemic.”

He added: “The G20 TechSprint Initiative will support the efforts of supervisors and regulators in reaping the benefits of technology to ensure that the global financial system continues to support households and businesses.”

Interested private firms can compete and develop innovative solutions to these problems using the cloud-based APIX platform that facilitates registration, prototype building and online judging of submissions. It will also enable solution providers to utilise a custom-built environment to integrate APIs to build and deploy prototypes for solving the challenge statements.

“The APIX cloud-based innovation platform will facilitate a state-of-the-art remote hackathon that will help propel rapid innovation in the regulatory and supervisory space to benefit central banks, supervisory authorities and financial institutions around the world,” said MAS Chief Fintech Officer, Sopnendu Mohanty.

TechSprint is taking place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The initiative recognizes that, notwithstanding the unprecedented challenges presented by the virus, financial regulators and supervisors will continue to ensure that the global financial system operates in a stable, efficient and inclusive manner.

It also recognizes that regulators and supervisors require the tools to identify vulnerabilities and share information domestically and across borders in real time. Competitors are encouraged to develop solutions that will support this process.