South Africa has selected a number of crypto fintech companies for their regulatory sandbox. The country’s Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group has created a space in which a number of fintech companies can explore new products, without the challenges of regulatory restriction.
Bitcoin fintech company Centbee is the first BSV business to be included in the regulatory sandbox project. Their cross-border remittance app Minit Money facilitates low-cost cross-border transactions, and was selected by the IFWG to test the regulatory treatment of cryptocurrency assets for low-value cross-border remittances between South Africa and Ghana.
CEO of Centbee, Angus Brown, commented on the company’s selection to the regulatory sandbox:
“We are proud to be the first Bitcoin SV business globally to work closely with financial sector regulators in South Africa and are delighted to be selected for South Africa’s first regulatory sandbox.”
While only a small number of merchants currently accept Bitcoin SV , Centbee aims to push their educational efforts by increasing awareness of Bitcoin SV, reducing misconceptions, and encouraging adoption of Bitcoin SV.
With a high number of cross-border remittances being sent to countries in Africa, emigrants in South Africa who may not have access to traditional financial services will be able to utilise a low-cost service to send money cross-border to their loved ones.
Innovators currently testing as part of the first cohort of the regulatory sandbox include crowd-investing platform The People’s Fund, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, Investec Bank Limited (Investec), Xago Technologies (Xago), Mercury FX (Mercury), and Santam.
The sandbox allows innovators to test products that push existing regulation, however the IFWG is keen to underline the fact that this requires companies to fulfil a criteria, and participants will be supervised by relevant regulators.
The final goal of the IFWG sandbox is to find ways that regulation and innovation can coexist. The IFWG states on their website that following the conclusion of testing “the insights gained should provide clarity on how such innovation could be treated from a regulatory perspective in future, thereby promoting regulatory certainty.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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