Central Bank of Iran Unveils Fin-tech Policy

Financial Tribune – The Central Bank of Iran on Sunday published a document on policies related to the operation of fin-techs, clarifying its stance about the role of the regulatory body and defining non-bank firms and banks relations among other issues.

The CBI has made it clear that it will neither establish a new institution for supervising fin-techs, nor would it issue licenses for the operation of financial services providers. Instead, it would devolve the responsibility to authorized financial institutions.

In the new model, the central bank will define “roles” and regulatory “frameworks”, without directly getting involved in the process of authorizing innovative financial services.

 “Fintechs will be linked to the country’s financial system through authorized financial institutions … The risks will be included in the institutions’ total risks based on a partnership agreement … In return, financial institutions would benefit from [fintechs’] high potentials in developing innovative services, attract new customers and boost sales,” reads the document published on CBI website.

Banks and other financial institutions are permitted to outsource their operations to innovative companies. However, they are the sole bodies in charge of their customers’ data and will be held responsible for any fraud, abuse or data leak.