This page offers a contact channel on fintech, to clarify questions on innovation in financial products and services, providing relevant information in this field.

As national supervisory authority, macroprudential authority and payment systems overseer, Banco de Portugal keeps track of developments in financial innovation:

• It partners with the relevant national and international entities to develop financial services regulation, among them the National Council of Financial Supervisors, the European Banking Authority, the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the European Systemic Risk Board;
• It encourages and takes part in debate on the risks and opportunities that technological innovation – for example, artificial intelligence, the technologies behind the so-called 'virtual currencies' and the use of big data – puts within the reach of financial services;
• It assesses the impact of digital transformation in terms of internal organisation and processes, with the goal of increasing effectiveness and efficiency in carrying out its mission to safeguard financial stability and price stability;
• It keeps track of the technological developments linked to financial compliance, commonly known as RegTech, including prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Initiatives in focus

• PORTUGAL FINLAB’s 2nd edition launched at the Web Summit
• Portugal FinLab's official launch statement (in Portuguese only)
• Portugal FinLab: Regulators and Portugal Fintech Association create platform to support technological innovation in the financial sector (in Portuguese only)
• Banco de Portugal and CMVM create a guide to assist the registration of foreign management companies

What is 'fintech'?

Under the Financial Stability Board’s definition, ‘fintech’ refers to technologically enabled innovation in financial services that could result in new business models, applications, processes or products with an associated material effect on the provision of financial services.

'Fintech' may refer to entities that operate in the financial sector and that have business models based on innovative technologies. It may also refer to the technologies themselves, applied to financial services and used by those entities or traditional financial system participants as banks and payment institutions.

'Fintech' is a portmanteau word formed from the phrase 'financial technology', which relates to the application of technology to financial services provision.

Public speeches and other links