site.btaBNB Active in Modernizing Payment Services in Country, Says Deputy BNB Governor Petar Chobanov

At the seventh edition of the banking forum Banking Today 2024, organized by the website Investor.bg on Thursday at the Inter Expo Center in Sofia, Bulgarian National Bank Deputy Governor Petar Chobanov said that in terms of banking policies, financial innovations, the development of the fintech sector, as well as innovations in payment and financial services, with an emphasis on open banking, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) continues to develop its expertise. The Central Bank is also conducting a fruitful dialogue with all interested parties, with the aim of further modernizing financial and payment services and ensuring access to open financial services data.

Chobanov stressed that access to financial data is a mandatory and integral part of the commitment stated in the EU Digital Finance Strategy to introduce the European space for financial data. This, together with the dynamic development of the payment services market, electronic payments and the rapid development of providers of open banking services through the secure sharing of data between banks and fintech companies, led to the European Commission's proposal for a third payment services directive (PSD 3) and the relevant regulation, explained the Deputy BNB Governor.

These legislative changes will have a significant impact on credit institutions, financial technology, payment service providers and customers, he noted.

Chobanov  said that that the BNB is actively participating in these processes and developing the dialogue with business partners, the EC and the European Central Bank, with a focus on improving consumer protection and competition in electronic payments.

"We put emphasis on the possibilities for users to share their data in a secure way, so that they can access a wide range of better and cheaper financial services," explained Chobanov and pointed to another priority in the bank's supervisory policy - the fight against fraud in payments.