Bulgaria’s Fintech Sector Embraces Banking Compliance Best Practices Amid Growing Industry

Spotlight Event Brings Together Financial Experts to Discuss Latest Trends and Challenges

Sofia, Bulgaria - The Bulgarian FinTech community gathered recently in Sofia for the Spotlight event, organized by Eleven Ventures and the European Compliance Center. The event brought together over 40 guests, comprising banking professionals, financial experts, and compliance specialists to discuss the latest trends and challenges in preventing money laundering and combating financial crime.

Launch of First Bulgarian Fintech Report Highlights Bulgaria as Fastest-Growing Fintech Destination

The event coincided with the launch of the First Bulgarian Fintech report, which highlighted Bulgaria as the fastest-growing fintech destination in the CEE region. The participants delved into key topics such as onboarding processes, sanction screening, transaction monitoring, and RegTech solutions for effective compliance.

Balancing Commercial and Regulatory Demands: A Key Challenge

According to speakers and attendees, balancing commercial and regulatory demands is the biggest challenge facing the fintech community. They emphasized that fintech entrepreneurs must consider compliance risks from the outset of their business activities, setting the right controls and procedures during upscaling. Focusing on superior customer experience is crucial, but resources and personnel should also be devoted to AML/financial crime prevention.

Partnership Between Banks and Fintech Companies Crucial

The speakers called for banks to act as partners rather than rivals, sharing their expertise in compliance to help fintech companies adapt to regulatory standards. The key principles of know your risks, know your product, and know your customer are applicable to both parties. However, traditional financial institutions often engage in de-risking, particularly when it comes to virtual currency operators.

Leveraging Technology for Fintech Compliance

The future of fintech compliance lies in leveraging technology to minimize manual processes or human input. Start-ups can avoid the mistakes of traditional financial institutions by being agile, flexible, and free from path-dependent systems. The RegTech industry will continue to attract attention as a provider of configurable, easy-to-integrate, and cost-effective regulatory solutions.

Automatization Crucial in Identification and Verification

Automatization is crucial in two main areas:

• Identification and Verification: Client identification through different information sources
• Transaction Monitoring: Identifying and flagging suspicious transactions using data mining algorithms that analyze large volumes of data

Cross-Sectoral Engagement Essential for Compliance

The participants also emphasized the need for more cross-sectoral engagement between firms, regulators, and compliance professionals. They called for better alignment of national AML regimes with international standards.

European Compliance Center’s Vision for Positive Social Change

The European Compliance Center believes that positive social change will only come about if professionals and organizations work together and share ideas and best practices.

Prioritizing Banking Compliance Best Practices for a Successful Long-Term Future

As the fintech industry continues to grow, it is essential for companies to prioritize banking compliance best practices to ensure a successful long-term future. By embracing technology and collaboration, Bulgaria’s fintech sector can set a positive example for other regions in the CEE market.