Pacific Regional Regulatory Sandbox ("Sandbox")
- Test new and innovative financial services and products with live customers, subject to specific durations, appropriate safeguards and regulatory oversight.
- Receive necessary regulatory support and guidance from eight jurisdictions made accessible as an attractive and vibrant single market.
- A unified and coordinated multi-country regulatory environment intended to foster and accelerate innovation and create thriving, inclusive and sustainable digital economies.
Participating countries
The following countries and regulatory authorities are keen to receive your application and explore how your innovation can address specific challenges inhibiting financial inclusion, advance development in key priority areas and deliver stable and secure financial systems and prosperous jurisdictions.
Key priorities
You are encouraged to apply to the Sandbox if your innovative financial service, product or project addresses challenges associated with these key priorities.
Digital payments
Solutions that deliver intuitive, secure, affordable, interoperable and efficient digital payments for all market segments.
Innovative financial health
Solutions that support the ability of low-income individuals to plan and build financial resilience and cope with financial shocks.
Support for MSMEs
Solutions that delivers opportunities to scale, go digital and access suitable financial services.
Remittances
Solutions that make possible more affordable and efficient domestic and cross-border payments, particularly in corridors impacted by global bank de-risking.
Digital identity & KYC
Solutions that enable seamless, secure and scalable identification and onboarding of disadvantaged groups, as defined in the AFI Kigali Statement
Digital financial literacy
Solutions that build enhanced digital financial literacy and contribute to strengthened cyber hygiene for low-income users in participating countries.
Inclusive green finance
Digital solutions that strengthen the resilience of low-income communities to climate change in participating countries.
RegTech and SupTech
Solutions that increase efficiency via simplified digital regulatory compliance and reporting tools and improved supervisory processes at central banks.
How it works
Pacific Regional Regulatory Sandbox process
Application
Visit the online portal, follow the steps to complete the application form and submit your application.
Preliminary review
Eligibility checks and preliminary assessment by applicable participating regulatory authorities.
Preparation
Extensive assessment and approval of the application, including identifying the risks, appropriate safeguards and guidance. Setting the parameters and controls for the testing period.
Testing
Deployment of the innovative financial product or service in a live environment within well-defined safeguards and for a specified duration.
Exit or Termination
Testing outcomes as determined by the regulatory authority in each jurisdiction, based on pre-defined key performance indicators.
Commercial deployment
Commercial launch and scale-up of successful projects, as determined, communicated and permitted by the regulatory authority.
FAQs
Any questions? We got you covered.
- The sandbox welcomes applications from for-profit and non-profit companies, regulated or unregulated, incorporated and/or operating in and outside the Pacific region and Seychelles.
- There is no requirement to be regulated, licensed, or authorized to apply to the sandbox, however, innovations satisfying these broad categories are encouraged to apply:
- New digital business models not currently covered explicitly or implicitly under any regulation in the jurisdiction being considered.
- New and immature digital financial service technology.
- Innovative digital financial services products or services that have the potential to address a persistent financial inclusion challenge.
- Participating jurisdictions will assess and determine the eligibility of applicants by conducting "fit-and-proper tests", which will also be used to inform decisions when incorporation in the local market is required.
- Please refer to the Pacific Regional Regulatory Sandbox Guidelines for more information on the eligibility of applicants.
- Applicants based in the Pacific region and Seychelles are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Applications must be submitted via the Portal, which
is accessible here:
Click ' Apply Now ' and follow the instructions.
- Applicants can expect to receive the results of a preliminary assessment 30-45 working days after successfully submitting their application.
- Regulatory authorities will provide guidance on relevant parameters, boundary conditions and safeguards for a potential live testing of the proposed financial product, service or innovation, depending on specific legal and regulatory requirements.
- Testing typically lasts 12-18 months, however, applicants may request an extension for a specified duration, subject to approval by each regulator.
- Information shared by applicants will be used as required by regulatory and sandbox authorities.
- Sandbox and regulators will not bear responsibility for losses related to confidentiality and non-disclosure.
- Confidential information will be marked as such and caution exercised when handling this information.
- Non-confidential information will be disclosed on the sandbox portal, including the applicant's name, as well as the start and end dates of the testing stage.
Apply
Are you interested in testing your innovative solution?
We have simplified the application process via a multi-tenant Regional Regulatory Sandbox Platform (“the Portal”). Submit your expressions of interests, enquiries and applications to one, some or all participating countries easily and get started on this journey without undue complexity, time or effort.
The Portal will be available and receiving applications starting January 2022.
Enquiry
Get notified when we go live, ask questions, indicate interest or just engage – we would love to hear from you!
News
Engage and follow the conversation as we shape the future.
The Pacific Islands Regional Initiative (PIRI) Factsheet
6th Pacific Island Regional Initiative (PIRI) Leaders Roundtable
PIRI publishes Pacific Regional Regulatory Sandbox Guidelines
About PIRI
- Pacific Islands Regional Initiative , known as PIRI, is a regional initiative of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).
- It was created at the AFI Global Policy Forum in Trinidad and Tobago in 2014 and was officially launched the following year in Dili, Timor-Leste.
- PIRI, adopting the ethos and spirit of peer learning and knowledge exchange synonymous with the AFI network, actively pursues the vision of advancing financial inclusion by making responsible financial services available and accessible to all Pacific Island countries. It is a platform for small island developing states within the AFI network.
- PIRI consists of financial regulators from seven Pacific states – Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu – and one small island developing state – Seychelles.
- More information about PIRI’s objectives, governance, projects and knowledge products can be found in this factsheet .