The Bank of Greece established its Regulatory Sandbox in 2021 to support financial innovation in Greece. The initiative was implemented in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with funding from the European Union through the Structural Reform Support Programme and consultant support from EY Greece. The sandbox provides a controlled regulatory environment in which eligible financial service providers can test innovative products and services on a limited scale while working directly with the Bank of Greece on applicable regulatory and supervisory requirements.
Programme Overview
• Initiative: Bank of Greece Regulatory Sandbox
• Location: Athens, Greece
• Organizer and regulator: Bank of Greece
• Implementation partner: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
• Funding source: European Union through the Structural Reform Support Programme
• Consultant support: EY Greece
• Target sector: Finance & Insurance, with a focus on financial technology and innovative financial services
• Target market: Greece
• Programme type: Regulatory Sandbox
The sandbox is designed to facilitate financial innovation while preserving financial stability, increase legal certainty around innovative financial products and services, and help the Bank of Greece build knowledge that can inform its regulatory and supervisory approach.
Testing Framework and Eligibility
• Eligible applicants: Financial service providers that are authorised by and subject to the supervision of the Bank of Greece
• Non-authorised firms: Technology companies and other unauthorised firms may participate by obtaining the necessary authorisation or partnering with an appropriately authorised institution
• Innovation requirement: The proposed product or service must be genuinely innovative or significantly different from solutions already available in the Greek market
• User benefit: The solution must provide identifiable benefits to users of financial services or to the financial system
• Testing readiness: The product or service must be sufficiently mature for testing in a live environment
• Market requirement: Applicants must intend to deploy the proposed financial product or service in Greece
• Regulatory scope: The proposed solution must fall within the regulatory and supervisory remit of the Bank of Greece
• Testing environment: Small-scale live testing within predefined parameters, safeguards and timeframes
• Supervision: Participants work directly with the Bank of Greece and receive customised regulatory guidance throughout the testing process
• Testing period: Up to six months, with the possibility of an extension of up to an additional six months
• Programme phases: Application, Preparation, Testing, and Evaluation/Exit
Participation does not exempt firms from applicable laws or regulatory requirements. The sandbox is a supervised testing framework rather than an unregulated environment, and participants remain subject to the Bank of Greece's supervisory powers during testing.
Statements from Leadership
Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras described the Regulatory Sandbox as an additional mechanism for advancing fintech and innovation in Greece alongside the Bank's existing FinTech Innovation Hub. He highlighted the growing importance of technology, research and innovation in an increasingly digital economy.
Andreea Moraru, then EBRD Director and Regional Head of Greece and Cyprus, highlighted the collaboration between the Bank of Greece, the EBRD and the European Union in supporting financial innovation. She also positioned the sandbox as part of a broader effort to accelerate digital transformation and strengthen innovation in financial services for the benefit of consumers, society and the Greek economy.
EBRD Support and Fintech Policy Work
• The EBRD has supported the development of innovative approaches to banking and financial services across the economies where it operates
• It works with governments, regulators and other authorities to develop regulatory environments that can support responsible financial innovation
• Its policy work has included helping establish regulatory sandboxes and developing roadmaps for fintech ecosystems
• The EBRD combines its role as an investor with policy advice and institutional cooperation to promote digital and financial-sector development
• Its involvement in the Bank of Greece Regulatory Sandbox formed part of this wider fintech and digital-transition work
EBRD Investment in Greece
At the time of the sandbox's launch in 2021, the EBRD reported that it had begun investing in Greece in 2015 to support the country's economic recovery and had invested more than €4.6 billion across 78 projects. These investments covered the corporate, financial, energy and infrastructure sectors. These figures reflect the position reported at the time of the 2021 launch and should not be interpreted as current EBRD investment totals.
The Bank of Greece Regulatory Sandbox represents part of Greece's broader framework for supporting responsible financial innovation. Building on the Bank of Greece FinTech Innovation Hub, it gives eligible regulated firms a structured way to test innovative financial products and services in a live but controlled environment while engaging directly with the regulator. The framework seeks to balance innovation, regulatory clarity, consumer and market benefits, and the stability of the financial system.