The main objective of these changes is to create a competitive, transparent, and innovative environment in the banking and payment services sector in the country.
As stated in the justification, the project aims to address the following tasks:
- the implementation of an obligation for financial organizations (FOs) to justify pricing for banking products, including loans, through the development of internal methodologies;
- the improvement of antimonopoly regulation considering the new realities of the digital economy, such as fintech and the use of APIs;
- the strengthening of consumer rights protection against excessive tariffs and monopolistic prices;
- the enhancement of the National Bank's control over competition in the market through preventive measures.
Additionally, the document emphasizes that the need to revise existing norms in the area of pricing and antimonopoly regulation has been prompted by the relevance of these issues in the banking and payment services market.
“The existing rules do not establish clear requirements for the methods of tariff and interest rate formation, which complicates the understanding of pricing for clients and creates risks for the economic justification of prices. Furthermore, the current antimonopoly regulations were developed for traditional banking models and do not take into account new realities, such as the activities of fintech companies and digital ecosystems. This may render methods of determining market dominance based on market share less effective,” the draft states.
The project proposes significant changes to key regulatory documents of the National Bank concerning pricing, antimonopoly control, and market dominance in banking services, which should help address the identified issues,” noted representatives of the regulator.
The National Bank will require banks to provide methodologies for tariff calculation, analyze them, and, in case of violations, apply appropriate measures, including the revision of tariffs and fees.
