Tbilisi (GBC) – Several financial groups were interested in the digital banking market, including German companies, however, potential licensees have not submitted any applications yet, representatives of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) noted.

German companies expressed interest several months before announcement of the digital bank licensing framework. Seemingly, they have lost this interest, because they have changed plans.

As noted by Otar Gorgodze, head of the financial and supervisory technologies department of the NBG,  the supervisory framework does not regulate only licensing procedures. The NBG shows readiness to cooperate with the licensees for improving the ecosystem. The NBG applies different instruments in relation to Neobank, unlike banking.

In the banking license, all directions are specified and failed obligations result in the license termination in six months, while a licensed Neobank is not suspended and is granted a 2-year period for testing products and services.

Furthermore, a licensed Neobank is enabled to continue valuable operation for 4-5 years. As reported, Georgia’s first Neobank SPACE was launched in May 2018.

The NBG will smooth prudential requirements, liquidity and capital for digital banks, but set restrictions in the part of customers.

The NBG announced a licensing of a digital bank on July 27. The licensing fee is 200,000 GEL.

The financial market’s tariff scheme: