G20 Presidency initiates hackathon-style competition for regulatory technologies

Winners will receive $50,000 for every compliance and supervisory problem solved

A Saudi man walks past a poster depicting Saudi King Salman in Riyadh. The kingdom currently has the the rotating G20 Presidency. Reuters

The G20 Presidency and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, on Wednesday began a competition to find the best technological solution to financial regulatory and supervision issues.
Saudi Arabia, which currently holds the G20 rotating presidency and the BIS Innovation Hub have published operational regulatory and supervisory technology problems and invited firms to develop ways of solving them, the G20 said in a statement.

The hackathon-style competition, known as the G20 TechSprint initative, offers cash prizes and is supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), API Exchange (APIX), and the RegTech for Regulators Accelerator.

The “problem statements” developed from submissions received from FSB member jurisdictions identify challenges in regulatory reporting, analytics, and monitoring and supervision, it said.

“Alongside the BIS Innovation Hub, we look to the global FinTech community to help mobilise effective solutions to pressing financial regulatory and supervisory challenges, including by supporting regulatory and supervisory responses against the Covid-19 pandemic,” the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, Ahmed Alkholifey, said.

“The G20 TechSprint Initiative will support the efforts of supervisors and regulators in reaping the benefits of technology to ensure that the global financial system continues to support households and businesses.”

Selected participants will be invited to present their proposals in a virtual TechSprint Touchpoint workshop in July this year. An independent panel of experts will shortlist firms and identify the most promising solutions. Winners will receive prizes of $50,000 (Dh183,500) from the Saudi G20 Presidency for every problem solved.

TechSprint is taking place against the backdrop of the global pandemic that has shattered global trade and tipped the world economy into its deepest recession since the 1930s Great Depression. The International Monetary Fund forecasts global output will contract 3 per cent in 2020.

“The initiative recognises that, notwithstanding the unprecedented challenges presented by the virus, financial regulators and supervisors will continue to ensure that the global financial system operates in a stable, efficient and inclusive manner,” according to the G20 statement.

“It also recognises that regulators and supervisors require the tools to identify vulnerabilities and share information domestically and across borders in real time. Competitors are encouraged to develop solutions that will support this process,” it noted.