Financial Crime World

Application Guidelines for Brunei Darussalam’s Regulatory Sandbox

Introduction

The Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) has established a regulatory sandbox to foster innovation in the financial technology (FinTech) sector. The following guidelines outline the key areas that applicants must address when submitting their applications.

Section 1: Application and Eligibility

  • Background, Experience, and Qualifications: Provide detailed information about your background, experience, and qualifications.
  • Past Convictions or Disqualifications: Disclose any past convictions or disqualifications from acting as a director or manager.

Section 2: Proposed Financial Service/Product

  • Problem Statement: Describe the problem that your proposed financial service/product aims to solve.
  • Benefits: Outline the benefits of your proposed financial service/product.
  • Business Model: Provide an overview of your business model.
  • Technical Architecture: Detail the technical architecture of your proposed financial service/product.
  • Comparison with Existing Offerings: Compare your proposed financial service/product with existing offerings in the market.
  • Readiness for Demonstration: Describe how ready you are to demonstrate your proposed financial service/product.
  • Regulatory Status Required: State the regulatory status required (e.g., licensing, registration).
  • Relaxation of Specific Requirements: Seek relaxation of specific legal and regulatory requirements for the duration of the sandbox.
  • Meeting Full Requirements: Describe how you intend to meet full legal and regulatory requirements before exiting the sandbox.

Section 4: Sandbox Design

  • Experiments to be Conducted: Detail experiments to be conducted in the sandbox.
  • Indicators for Monitoring Progress: Outline indicators for monitoring progress.
  • Controls to Manage Risk and Failure: Describe controls to manage risk and failure.
  • Exit and Transition Plans: Describe exit and transition plans for customers in the event that your proposed financial service/product has to be discontinued.

Section 5: Regulatory Sandbox Criteria

  • Innovation: Demonstrate how your proposed financial service/product meets the criteria of innovation.
  • Potential Benefits: Outline potential benefits, such as improving accessibility, efficiency, or security.
  • Ability to Deploy on a Broader Scale: Describe how you plan to deploy your proposed financial service/product on a broader scale after exiting the sandbox.
  • Clear Test Scenarios and Expected Outcomes: Detail clear test scenarios and expected outcomes.
  • Parameters or Boundaries of the Regulatory Sandbox: Outline parameters or boundaries of the regulatory sandbox.

These guidelines are designed to ensure that applications for the BDCB regulatory sandbox are comprehensive, meet strict criteria, and are aligned with the goals of promoting innovation in financial services while protecting consumers and maintaining market integrity.