SERBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Željka Motika, Ivana Bulatović and Jovana Spasojević Gligorijević, Motika i partneri
on the FATF standards. The national regime operates on a risk‑based approach and includes core elements such as customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring of business relationships, and the reporting of suspi - cious transactions, all consistent with key FATF rec - ommendations. 2.16 Reverse Solicitation Digital asset-related services in Serbia may be pro - vided exclusively by legal entities established in Ser - bia that hold the required licence for such services. The National Bank of Serbia and the Securities and Exchange Commission oversee this market with the aim of preventing the provision of services by entities that are not duly licensed. However, in cases involving reverse solicitation – where a Serbian resident, acting on their own initiative, approaches a foreign service provider that has not offered or promoted its services in a way that could be considered as directly or specifically targeting the Serbian market – such activity is not expressly regu - lated under Serbian law and is therefore not explicitly prohibited. 3. Robo-Advisers 3.1 Requirement for Different Business Models Although robo‑advisory services themselves are not expressly regulated under Serbian law, the regulation of advisory services depends on the type of asset involved. Digital tokens – including security tokens and crypto - currencies – fall within the broader category of digital assets (as further explained in 10.3 Classification of Blockchain Assets ) and are regulated by the Law on Digital Assets. Under this law, advisory services relat - ing to digital assets may be provided by entities whose sole activity is offering advisory services, without the need to obtain a specific licence. However, such entities must clearly inform clients that they operate without supervisory approval. Advisory services may also be provided by licensed digital asset service pro - viders – such as exchanges, custodians, or brokers – provided they hold the appropriate licence for the
relevant services. To prevent conflicts of interest, the Law on Digital Assets explicitly prohibits operators of digital asset trading platforms from providing invest - ment advice. By contrast, advisory services relating to financial instruments are subject to a licensing regime and may only be offered by entities duly authorised by the Securities Commission under the capital markets regulatory framework. 3.2 Legacy Players’ Implementation of Solutions Introduced by Robo-Advisers Legacy players in Serbia, including banks and oth - er financial institutions, have begun implementing robo‑adviser solutions to enhance client support and improve the efficiency of their existing services. When a legacy player provides services related to trading in financial instruments, such activities are classified as investment advice, which is strictly regulated under the Capital Market Law and requires prior authorisa - tion from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any implementation of automated solutions within the scope of investment advisory services must comply with all applicable regulations. This includes, among other obligations, acting in the best interests of the client, conducting suitability assessments, and ensur - ing effective management and prevention of conflicts of interest. Regarding digital assets, banks are prohibited under the Digital Assets Act from providing any services other than the custody of cryptographic keys. Conse - quently, any form of advisory service related to digital assets – whether automated or non‑automated – is not permitted for legacy players. 3.3 Issues Relating to Best Execution of Customer Trades The provision of services relating to financial instru - ments must comply with the requirements set out in the Capital Markets Act, including best execution obligations aligned with MiFID II. Under these rules, investment firms are required to take all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result for their cli - ents, taking into account factors such as price, costs, speed, likelihood of execution, and settlement.
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