UK Financial Watchdog Announces Launch of Permanent Digital Sandbox in August

According to the FCA, the sandbox will be open to businesses, start-ups and data providers, including those involved in banking, investing, lending and payments.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced the launch of a digital sandbox to help technology companies in the early stages of product development.

In a July 20 announcement, the FCA said Digital Sandbox would be permanently available from August 1. The financial watchdog has conducted two pilot programs of the initiative, which will be open to businesses, start-ups and data providers, including those involved in banking, investing, lending and payments.

A sandbox allows projects to operate in a test environment to evaluate their products and services largely without unforeseen side effects affecting the real world. According to the FCA, the Digital Sandbox was intended to help innovative companies in their efforts to launch new products and services, as well as to support economic growth and international competitiveness.

Related: UK Government Rejects Lawmakers' Call To Treat Crypto Like Gambling

The UK Department of Economics and Finance proposed a “Financial Markets Infrastructure Sandbox” in April 2022 alongside its draft payment stablecoin regulatory framework.

On July 3, the European Commission announced that 20 projects had been selected for an EU regulatory sandbox. Among those eligible for the initiative were companies in the financial sector...