siliconindia | | November 20198THE CENTRAL BANK OF BAHRAIN & ITS REGULATORY SANDBOX FUELING BAHRAIN'S DIGITAL REVOLUTIONThe Kingdom of Bahrain is witnessing burgeon-ing trends in the finance & technology (Fintech) sphere in a much steadfast and robust manner currently. The country has evolved into a flourishing hotspot for Fintech activities across the re-gion, thanks to the proactive zest in its governing bodies who aim to upsurge Bahrain as the hub of finan-cial and technological outbursts. The arrival of the Amazon Web Services (AWS- the first of its kind in the re-gion) in 2017 in Bahrain sealed the country's intent to support fintechs and attract others from overseas to promote greater connectivity and international collaboration, and ever since, the country is pacing towards constant development fostering fu-ture-oriented fintech innovations.Striding a major role in empow-ering this forum is the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) that acts as a sole regulator ensuring utmost financial stability and controlling the mone-tary policies of the Kingdom of Bah-rain. However, due to digital trans-formation and the way technology is changing the paradigm of the fi-nancial services sector, the CBB has realized that as a regulator, it is es-sential to involve and deduct innova-tion as part of its agenda and ensure to remain as a thriving financial hub. In light of this, Yasmeen Al sharaf, Head of Fintech Unit, Central Bank of Bahrain, states "It is extremely important for us (the CBB) to move in-line with the digital movement and innovation to retain our position, and the way for us to do that is via regulatory forms, fostering Fintech and innovation, simultaneously en-suring that the financial stability is not hindered. Showcasing rigorous commit-ment to adopt innovation, Bahrain established a dedicated fintech and innovation unit aiming to disrupt the market and mandate financial institutions to adopt innovations as well. The unit is an embodiment of thorough research and development to carve a niche atop latest trends in fintech and further recommend nec-essary permutations within CBBs regulatory framework fostering in-novation. It was then that in 2017 country launched its first on-shore regulatory sandbox in the MENA re-gion.The Regulatory Sandbox ApproachThe sandbox is a regulatory ap-proach that enables startups as well YASMEEN AL SHARAF, HEAD - FINTECH UNITIn Talks With
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