The Second CBCG Fintech Conference Held
07/10/2022
Digitalisation and technological innovations enable increased efficiency and simplify access to the financial services market was concluded at today’s CBCG Fintech conference titled “Role of Fintech in the Democratisation of the Financial Landscape”.
The Conference was opened by the CBCG Governor, Radoje Žugić, the Minister of Finance, Aleksandar Damjanović, and the Head of the EBRD Office in Montenegro, Remon Zakaria.
Opening the Conference, Governor Žugić pointed out that, in parallel with numerous initiatives aimed at promoting cooperation between fintech companies and banks, and more significant application of state-to-the-art technologies in the banking services segment, the CBCG had also implemented intensive regulatory activities.
“The recently adopted Payment System Law created equating the conditions of internal payment transactions in Montenegro with the conditions of payment transactions in the European Union member states.” Adopting this system law is a prerequisite for starting negotiations for Montenegro’s accession to SEPA - the Single Euro Payments Area. By joining SEPA, Montenegro would have access to the fastest system of credit transfers and direct borrowing for end users, which is one of Montenegro’s strategic goals,” Žugić announced.
In his introductory speech, Minister Damjanović said that the Government was aware of the importance of the digital economy and fintech in providing more efficient and safer services to citizens. “Fintech is also important for avoiding tax evasion and money laundering because the development of cashless payments and new technologies prevents cash transactions that are always risky for various tax evasions”, said Damjanović.
The Head of the Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Remon Zakaria, said that digitalisation is one of the three strategic priorities of this institution for the next five years. “In this sense, EBRD actively supports small businesses, where we have programmes supporting our clients to include digital in their business activities”, said Zakaria.
Experts from the central banks of the Netherlands, Belgium, Georgia, and international fintech companies from the UK, Israel, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Mastercard, and the Montenegrin banking and ICT sectors discussed the latest fintech achievements and challenges in panels and presentations.
During the Conference, the final part of the second CBCG Fintech Hackathon was also opened, presenting five solutions that made it to the finals after the pre-selection.
The CBCG organised the second CBCG Fintech Conference in cooperation with ICT Cortex and the Association of Banks of Montenegro during the Podgorica ICT Week.
