ECONOMIC COUNCIL TO THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE RM

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund
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The study “Support for the implementation of e-Commerce infrastructure in the Republic of Moldova” was made public

The study “Support for the implementation of e-Commerce infrastructure in the Republic of Moldova” was made public

The Economic Council has made public the study and recommendations on the development of e-commerce infrastructure in the Republic of Moldova, developed with the support of the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund. According to the study, FinTech companies are not yet sufficiently present in the Moldovan market. Thus, we have an uncompetitive market, and international financial technology companies are in no hurry to come to Moldova with their financial services.

FinTech companies, highly developed in the world, provide financial services using software and other advanced technologies, offering a sufficiently competitive alternative to the traditional banking sector to sell services and solutions to customers. Whether it’s money transfer, lending, payment technologies or virtual currencies, FinTech companies use technologies that provide low-cost solutions that are very attractive to businesses and citizens.

According to experts, FinTech companies are not even interested in doing business here because the legislation governing this business segment is still imperfect. Market entry and licensing costs are very high, innovation facilitators are absent and we have a relatively low rate of use of financial tools and technologies, which does not contribute to the reduction of fees for services, proliferation of innovative payment services.

To redress the situation, the experts have identified the constraints and come up with a series of practical recommendations, which will be taken up by the Economic Council and promoted for approval by the authorities. These include actions to improve the institutional and regulatory infrastructure, including the creation of a unit to monitor and develop the FinTech sector. There is also a need to ensure cross-sectoral coordination between the authorities concerned, as well as the creation of a Fintech Innovation Hub to ensure entrepreneurs are well informed and new business models are encouraged.

At the same time, the government is urged to formulate a FinTech strategy for the development of the sector, and interested companies are encouraged to partner for a dialogue with the authorities and strengthen their efforts to increase competition, increase consumer convenience and open new business opportunities for online merchants. Experts also recommended the creation of local digital platforms – marketplaces, which would provide access to eCommerce marketplaces as well as the necessary range of new and affordable associated financial services.

The presentation of the preliminary results of the study took place in the framework of the Advisory Council for the Digitisation of the Economy – iConsil, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for Digitisation, Iurie Țurcanu, and will be included in the Roadmap for the Digitisation of the Economy and the Promotion of eCommerce.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the International Finance Corporation’s Investment Climate Reform Project funded by the Government of Sweden’s International Development Agency.

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