Central Bank of Oman launches Fintech regulatory sandbox

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) will launch the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox (FRS) initiativewhere participants can apply to live test their innovative Fintech solutions, that are enabled by new technologies, in a safe environment under the supervision of the CBO. The Central Bank of Oman as well issued the framework on its website.

The first phase of the FRS will be open for receiving Fintech applications related to payments solutions.  The FRS is a testing environment in which the CBO will grant certain regulatory exemptions for participants that have Fintech solution applications entering the FRS, thus allowing them to live test their banking, payments and other financial services solutions on volunteer customers in order to prove their viability. Such testing is live in the sense that it will include actual volunteer customers yet with limitations on their numbers, the volumes and values of operations as well as on the way some operations are conducted. 

H E Taher bin Salim al Amri, executive president of the CBO stated that this initiative will allow the local financial sector to develop through a safe testing environment that allows entrepreneurs and financial institutions to keep up with the rapid changes in financial technology worldwide. The FRS will enhance competition in the financial sector by allowing participants to better understand the benefits and risks of their Fintech solutions, as well as by reducing the time needed to fully offer the solution to the local market.

This could include Blockchain solutions for cross border payments, digital banking solutions, and more.