ROMANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Sergiu-Traian Vasilescu, Luca Dejan, Bogdan Rotaru and Ana-Maria Bută, VD Law Group
use conservative investments, actuarial models and advanced analytics, distributing products via financial advisers and digital platforms. Property and casualty insurance focuses on opera - tional efficiency, fraud detection and claims manage - ment, with regulators like the ASF emphasising fair practices and transparency. Insurers leverage real- time data, telematics, and the IoT for accurate under - writing and fraud prevention, adopting dynamic pric - ing and diverse distribution channels. While all sectors follow solvency and consumer protection rules, their regulatory and operational approaches differ based on risk, policy duration and capital strategies. Under Romanian law, regtech providers do not fall under any specific regulatory framework or licensing structure. However, the current regime with respect to data protection, digital identity verification, financial services (including insurance), electronic communica - tions, consumer protection, AML and cybersecurity might be potentially applicable to such institutions based on their service offerings. Regtech companies thus have to overcome a convoluted and fragmented legal landscape, ensuring compliance across industry- specific laws that were not originally conceived with their business models in mind. They are also subject to the same general accounting, tax, employment and corporate conditions that apply to other businesses operating in Romania. 9.2 Contractual Terms to Ensure Performance and Accuracy Even for key functions like regtech, cloud computing, payment processing and other outsourced parts of a financial firm’s operations, contractual safeguards are imposed on technology providers in terms of per - formance, accuracy and compliance, especially con - cerning the regulatory aspects. A service level agreement (SLA) generally governs such contracts covering specific performance metrics like uptime guarantees, transaction processing speed and error rates. 9. Regtech 9.1 Regulation of Regtech Providers
More often than not, firms expect audit rights to facili - tate period assessments of such service providers’ compliance with data security, risk management and operational resilience standards. 10. Blockchain 10.1 Use of Blockchain in the Financial Services Industry Romania’s traditional financial sector is cautiously integrating blockchain technology to improve effi - ciency and security, balancing innovation with regu - latory compliance. Cross-border payments are a key focus, with institutions piloting blockchain solutions to reduce costs and processing times for international transactions – particularly remittances, a critical mar - ket given Romania’s EUR5 billion annual inflow from overseas workers. Interest in blockchain also extends to digital identity management, where financial firms aim to streamline customer onboarding and securely share KYC data. However, GDPR requirements, such as the “right to be forgotten”, complicate the use of immutable ledgers, prompting exploration of hybrid models. Trade finance is another priority, with institutions testing smart con - tracts to automate agreements like letters of credit, reducing delays and fraud risks through partnerships with enterprise-grade blockchain platforms. 10.2 Local Regulators’ Approach to Blockchain Romanian regulators, including the BNR and the ASF, are taking a cautious yet proactive approach to block - chain technology. While no comprehensive local regu - lations specific to blockchain have been introduced, the authorities are closely aligning with EU frame - works and exploring ways to balance innovation with financial stability and consumer protection. In this context, Romania has initiated the legislative process for the implementation of MiCA by publishing a draft emergency ordinance currently subject to pub - lic consultation. The draft aims to establish the appli - cable licensing and registration procedures, deline - ate the supervisory competences of the ASF and the BNR, and ensure the alignment of existing national
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