On 17-18 September 2015, representatives of National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository, took part in the First Innovative Technologies Forum “Finnopolis 2015” held in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. The event organized by the Bank of Russia and the Government of Tatarstan was intended to help businessmen and authorities engage in an open dialog on financial technologies and to contribute to the implementation of modern technologies in the financial sector.
Among the forum’s guests were Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of the Bank of Russia, Rustam Minnikhanov, acting President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Nikolai Nikiforov, Russia’s Minister of Communications and Mass Media, representatives of other federal agencies, leading IT companies and financial institutions.
Maria Krasnova, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board, NSD, took part in a discussion on development of electronic interactions between federal executive authorities, the Bank of Russia and financial market participants. She mentioned the practicability and prospects of the “electronic government” infrastructure and the wider use of electronic services in the financial sectors; in particular, Ms. Krasnova spoke about an opportunity to use these resources as part of electronic voting at general shareholder meetings introduced by NSD.
Alexander Nazarov, Director of Research and Development Department, NSD, was among the participants of a discussion of the simplified access to securities market. He spoke about the formation of infrastructure allowing individuals to enter the stock market and about various investment instruments. Mr. Nazarov presented the NSD’s project of a centralized system of operatins with UITs. The system will help standardize and accelerate the process of purchasing, exchanging and repaying the UIT units for retail investors. It will also let managing companies reduce expenses for distribution. In addition, Mr. Nazarov spoke about creation of information and research system of the collective investment market based on the NSD Corporate Information Center.
Representatives of the Bank of Russia, SWIFT and the National Payment Card System, and Svetlana Gryanchenko, Director of Operations Department, NSD, discussed issues related to the launch of the MIR payment card as part of the National Payment Card System and the implementation of the Bank of Russia’s prospect payment system, the regulator’s opinion regarding the global trend of the wider use of blockchain technology and settlements in virtual currencies, as well as the implementation of the ISO 20022 standard. Ms. Gryanchenko reported on new projects of the nationally and systemically important NSD Payment System with regard to interactions with the Bank of Russia’s payment system in the current and prospect formats.