Poland is getting a fintech regulatory sandbox overseen by the country's financial supervision authority but run by a group of industry players under a decentralised model.
PKO Bank Polski, Huge Thing, Alior Bank, BusinessCaddy, Pekao, The HEart, Citi Handlowy Bank and BGŻ BNP Paribas Bank are all acting as sandbox operators, providing IT test environments for startups.
Open to firms planning to operate in Poland's financial market and with a registered office in the country, the sandboxes will offer a chance to test products and services "based on innovative information technologies".
Some test environments will be virtual, in the form of a computer system simulating market behaviours, while others will be "'real', involving interaction with clients. Both the test environments and the startups will be monitored and technically assisted by the regulator.
Jędrzej Iwaszkiewicz, co-founder of digital ventures corporate centre The Heart, says: "The regulatory sandbox of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority is a unique initiative on the Polish market, allowing fintechs to test their solutions in a safe environment."