Papuna Lezhava, Vice Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, spoke at the Global Impact Fintech (GIFT), the world's largest, most diverse and inclusive Fintech Forum, bringing together ecosystem leaders from 60 countries.

The event was hosted by up to 30 international speakers from 20 countries. These included: Citi, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), DBS Bank, Fintech Associations of Hong Kong, Singapore, Portugal and other countries, representatives of the central banks, and the agencies of the United Nations, the World Bank Group, and the Asian Development Bank.

The event was organized by the Bank of Georgia and Startup Grind, with the support of the National Bank of Georgia.

 The online forum discussed the following topics: open and inclusive finance, global Fintech ecosystems and policy frameworks, women leaders at Fintech, and more.

Papuna Lezhava, Vice Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, noted: "In our environment, where the role of innovation in the financial sector is growing rapidly, we cannot imagine finance without technology. In this environment Open Regulatory approach is vital. Regulator should be flexible and technologically neutral in its risk assessment.  To achieve this goal, 2 years ago, we have established Financial and Supervisory Technology Department, which focuses on innovative financial products, services and business models and aims to play a role in creation of Fintech-friendly ecosystem in Georgia. Our goal is not only creation of environment that serves companies focused on Georgia, but also the environment for companies that have regional and global expansion ambitions."

The National Bank of Georgia will continue to strongly promote the development of financial technologies in the future, Vice Governor Lezhava added. He further noted that the National Bank is working on several other initiatives to promote the development of innovative products, such as instant payments, crypto assets regulation, digital GEL and others. Details about these initiatives will be unveiled in the near future.