Is Ukraine ready for a PSD2-like initiative?

Worldwide trends in the financial sector are creating new conditions that Ukraine should follow, especially if it wishes to create a more transparent and open payment market that is attractive to financial players and consumers alike. In the European Union (EU), the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) governs this direction, but how might a similar piece of legislation look in Ukraine and what impact is it likely to have?

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is already studying PSD2 in Europe and believes it an important step in both pushing innovation and ensuring consumer protection. At the moment, the main problem is not the introduction of open banking but rather outdated legislation on payment systems. This is due to a little artificial centralization of payment systems in the country. NBU is currently working to update this legislation. Specifically, NBU is working to develop the Ukrainian payment infrastructure based on the ISO 20022 standard. NBU is also working to create a communication platform that allows all interested parties (banks, FinTech firms and the NBU) to communicate their views.

For their part, financial institutions in Ukraine appear ready to move forward with a PSD2-like initiative in Ukraine, but only with the full support of qualified specialists and the regulator. FinTech firms also believe that the financial sector in Ukraine is ready for the move but also understand that it will require that financial institutions make changes to support this. Specifically, they need to examine the creation of a separate division that will include technically-savvy IT specialists to support the operation of the new system.

Source: psm7.com