anita angelovska bezhoska : welcome address - national bank of the republic of north macedonia fintech event welcome address by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, at the nbrnm fintech virtual event, skopje, 28 july 2021. * * * good morning to all. it is my pleasure to welcome you to this virtual event today. the purpose of the event is twofold : 1 ) to share with you the results of the activities we are taking as part of our ongoing efforts to support the fintech development and 2 ) to announce our next steps in fintech segment. this event would not be possible without the european fund for southeast europe, an institution with a prominent role in promoting responsible financial sector development. we are very thankful for its continuous support in different areas of our activities, including fintech. i would also like to extend a gratitude to mr. jay tikam, a financial expert who will present the findings from the first national fintech survey that we jointly conducted. let me now shed some light on a couple of important dimensions related to fintech such as the specific circumstances that brought this issue to the fore in the last decade, the benefits it brings to the society, the role of policy makers / regulators in this segment, the current state and the priorities and challenges ahead. although " fintech " is a relatively new term, technology has always played an important role in the financial sector. technology - driven innovation in the financial sector has a long history ranging from the development of double - entry book keeping, to the establishment of modern payment systems, and the more recent introduction of complex asset markets and retail financial products. thus it seems that the emergence of fintech is only the latest wave of innovation to affect the financial industry. then, why is fintech getting increased focus nowadays? in fact, in the last decade, a radical change has occurred in the way in which technology is used leading to proliferation of new financial products offered outside the banking system, which has brought significant competitive pressure on banks as traditional players, and created environment in which disruption can happen extremely quickly, thus urging traditional players to adjust faster to maintain market share. there are a couple of other factors that have contributed to proliferation of financial innovation besides the advancement in technology itself. changing consumer behaviour, especially by trendy millennials, is by far the biggest driver, on the demand side. they want to engage in their own way

by adopting new oversight regulation. the new regulation brings together the internationally accepted standards for payment systems operation contained in the principles for financial market infrastructures, as well as the european central bank revised oversight framework. in addition, i would like to point out the significant changes that have been done in the domain of payment statistics in accordance with the ecb regulation on payment statistics. the nbrm developed new bylaws on payment statistics, which are expected to generate high quality and comprehensive data, and will provide methodological and operational readiness of payment statistics of the nbrm with that of the european system of central banks. ladies and gentlemen, at the end of my speech i declare the ninth conference on payment and securities settlement systems open, and i wish the chairman, mr michiel van duveren and his colleagues, a successful conference. finally, i wish you all a pleasant stay, hoping that you will take with you nice memories of ohrid, the city with thousands of years of history and beautiful nature that attract the tourists from all over the world. тhank you very much for your participation in our conference. bis central bankers ’ speeches