Regulatory sandbox

• enables the participant to have consultations with the NBS, which should help the participant to adjust financial innovation in compliance with the legislation within the competence of the NBS
• determines the course of the testing phase in the form of a testing plan
• lasts a maximum of 6 months (the NBS may extend it accordingly if necessary)

• enables implementation of the tested financial innovation on the Slovak financial market in accordance with the testing plan
• the participant continuously informs the NBS about the course of testing in accordance with the testing plan
• testing period shall not exceed 6 months (the NBS may extend it accordingly by a maximum of 6 months if necessary)

• within one month after the end of the testing, the participant delivers to the NBS the final report
• within one month from the delivery of the final report, the NBS organizes a final meeting with the participant in order to discuss the final report and the course of the participant’s participation in the regulatory sandbox
• the NBS may replace the final meeting with a written statement on the final report
• participation in the regulatory sandbox is terminated on the day of the final meeting or on the day of delivery of the NBS’ written statement on the final report
• participation in the regulatory sandbox may also be terminated prematurely, both by the participant and by the NBS

The application to the regulatory sandbox can be delivered to the NBS

by filling in an electronic form
po after sending the form, the NBS confirms its receipt

or

completed application (.docx)
send electronically to the email address sandbox@nbs.sk;
or in paper form to the postal address:

National Bank of Slovakia
Financial Technology and Innovations Department
Imricha Karvaša 1
813 25 Bratislava

The innovation hub and the regulatory sandbox are two tools that enable interested parties to have a dialogue with the NBS on the application of regulation within the NBS’s competence to financial innovation.

The innovation hub serves primarily to answer one or more specific questions about the application of regulation to financial innovation. After answering these questions, the interaction within the innovation hub is terminated.

The regulatory sandbox is used for repeated consultations regarding the adjustment of financial innovation and its subsequent real testing on the financial market under the scrutiny of the NBS. Cooperation within the innovation hub is usually one-off, while cooperation within the regulatory sandbox lasts several months. For this reason, there are usually way more interactions via the innovation hub than there are participants in the regulatory sandbox.

Thanks to participation in the regulatory sandbox, the participant will have the opportunity to consult with the NBS on the compliance of financial innovation with regulation. Based on consultations with experts from the NBS, the participant can adjust financial innovation and then test it on real clients in the Slovak financial market in accordance with the testing plan.

The application for the regulatory sandbox can be submitted at any time during the year.

Termination of participation in the regulatory sandbox may be regular or premature.

Premature termination of participation in the regulatory sandbox
The participant may terminate its participation in the regulatory sandbox prematurely at any time on its own initiative, but it must inform the NBS about it in advance. The NBS may also terminate the participant’s participation in the regulatory sandbox prematurely if the participant does not follow the NBS instructions.

Proper termination of participation in the regulatory sandbox
Within one month after the end of the testing, the participant delivers a final report to the NBS summarizing the testing process. Within one month of the delivery of the final report, the NBS organizes a final meeting with the participant in order to discuss the final report and the course of its participation in the regulatory sandbox. The NBS may replace the final meeting with a written statement on the final report. Participation in the regulatory sandbox is terminated on the day of the final meeting or on the day of delivery of the NBS’ written statement on the final report.

The first step in cross-border testing is to complete a form on the EU Digital Finance Platform, in which the entity specifies in more detail what type of cross-border testing it is interested in and which supervisors it wants to involve in the testing.

Subsequently, an entity that is interested in cross-border testing in multiple regulatory sandboxes (Multi sandbox testing) should submit an application both to the NBS regulatory sandbox and to all other regulatory sandboxes in which it wishes to test. The entity interested in cross-border testing must meet the criteria for entry into other regulatory sandboxes according to the relevant rules of that regulatory sandbox.

After expressing interest in cross-border testing, the NBS communicates with other relevant supervisory authorities and agrees with them on further action in connection with cross-border testing. Therefore, a two-month period does not apply to the assessment of such an entity’s application.

The NBS publishes the participant’s business name, the date of entry of the participant into the regulatory sandbox, the start date of testing, the date of suspension of testing, the end date of testing, the date of termination of participation, and a brief description of the tested financial innovation. With the consent of the participant, the NBS may also publish more detailed information on the participant’s participation in the regulatory sandbox.