In an interview with the leading Czech financial technology magazine FintechCowboys.cz, Jan Šovar and Ondřej Mikula discussed domestic FinTech regulation, legislation in financial services, and the establishment of their specialised law firm, which focuses on this area and obtaining licences from the Czech National Bank (CNB).
Both attorneys agreed that one of the primary challenges facing the current FinTech sector is the lack of sufficiently specific legislation. According to Ondřej Mikula, companies must contend with the fact that legislation governing financial service providers is often unclear, even for traditional companies—let alone for innovators and start-ups. “…it is often not immediately apparent whether, and which, financial regulation will apply to their new digital services,” he noted.
The attorneys also highlighted inefficiencies in the administrative procedure for obtaining a CNB licence to provide certain services under the implementation of PSD2. For instance, the licensing process is significantly slowed by the requirement to submit application documents in Czech, whereas other European countries permit submission in English.
“That said, legislation specifically tailored to FinTech will undoubtedly develop. This is evident, for example, from the FinTech Action Plan published by the EU Commission in spring 2018 and the increasingly active role of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), particularly the European Banking Authority (EBA),” added Jan Šovar, reflecting on the future evolution of financial technology law.
Full text of the interview
