SERBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Željka Motika, Ivana Bulatović and Jovana Spasojević Gligorijević, Motika i partneri
2.5 Regulatory Sandbox A framework for testing innovative solutions exists solely in the payments sector, pursuant to the Pay - ment Services Act. Under this legislation, the Nation - al Bank of Serbia has discretionary authority, on a case‑by‑case basis, to approve temporary exemp - tions from the application of certain statutory pro - visions. These exemptions may include waiving the requirement to obtain a licence for the provision of payment services, for the purpose of testing innova - tive payment services in a controlled environment. For such an exemption to apply, the service must con - tain an element of innovation – meaning it represents a new or significantly enhanced payment service com - pared to existing market solutions. The application of this exemption is subject to obtaining the prior opinion of the NBS, as well as granting the NBS access to and The National Bank of Serbia and the Securities and Exchange Commission are the competent authorities with shared oversight of the capital markets, financial services, investment funds, and digital assets. Their respective jurisdictions and scopes of authority are determined by the Law on the National Bank of Serbia and the Capital Markets Act, which comprehensively define and allocate the responsibilities and powers of oversight of the testing process. 2.6 Jurisdiction of Regulators The regulatory framework of the Republic of Serbia does not recognise the concept of no-action letters. 2.8 Outsourcing of Regulated Functions Banks may, by contract, delegate the provision of payment services to agents that are licensed pay - ment institutions. They may also outsource cash‑flow management activities to bank agents licensed by the National Bank of Serbia. Any outsourcing arrange - ment is subject to prior notification to the National Bank of Serbia. In all cases, the bank must ensure full and unrestricted supervisory access for the regulator and remains fully responsible to the regulator. In the payment services and electronic money sector, payment institutions and electronic money institutions each supervisory authority. 2.7 No-Action Letters
types of charges. Lenders must comply with strict transparency requirements, including disclosure of the total cost of credit, clear presentation of the annual percentage rate of charge (APR), and the provision of standardised pre‑contractual information. Investment firms may charge execution, portfolio management, custody, and advisory fees. Regulation requires full ex‑ante transparency, aggregated disclo - sure of all costs and charges, and prohibits hidden or opaque fee structures. Digital asset service providers typically charge com - missions and transfer fees, subject to a statutory obligation to disclose the full fee schedule before establishing a business relationship. Providers are expressly prohibited from charging fees by deduct - ing them directly from digital assets held on behalf of users. Regardless of the specific fee model, general con - sumer‑protection principles require all charges to be clear, accurate, and non‑misleading, with hidden costs strictly prohibited. Compliance oversight pri - marily rests with the National Bank of Serbia, while the Securities Commission supervises investment‑servic - es activities. 2.4 Variations Between the Regulation of Fintech and Legacy Players Serbia does not have a standalone regulatory regime dedicated specifically to fintech companies. Instead, regulatory requirements depend on the nature of the activities performed. Banks are subject to compre - hensive prudential, governance, and risk‑manage - ment obligations, while fintech companies generally operate under more limited and specialised licensing regimes, such as those applicable to payment institu - tions, electronic money institutions, and digital asset service providers. When banks rely on fintech providers for technological or operational services, these arrangements are treat - ed as outsourcing. In such cases, the bank remains fully responsible for compliance and risk manage - ment, under the supervision of the National Bank of Serbia.
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