Report: Cloud computing and its role in building a new generation financial centre in Poland. Strategic and regulatory challenges

In September this year, FinTech Poland (Foundation for Financial Innovation) issued a report entitled Cloud computing and its role in building the next generation financial centre in Poland. Strategic and regulatory challenges.

The report states that building a modern financial centre serves to modernise the entire economy, but also to strengthen the geopolitical importance of Poland. Therefore, locating in Poland regional data processing centres of international providers not only supports digitisation of banks and other businesses, but also results in locating in Poland an important part of the global data infrastructure, which today is no less important than the communication or energy infrastructure.

Cloud solutions provide both efficiency and flexibility that constitute an additional competitive advantage for individual institutions and the entire financial sector, which is of particular importance in the context of developing the idea of building a new generation financial centre in our country. One of the pillars of the centre is to be advanced IT infrastructure. As a result, the banking sector becomes a catalyst for the implementation of cloud solutions throughout the financial sector and then throughout the economy.

As noted, the migration of infrastructure and processes to the cloud can significantly reduce the time it takes banks to bring new products and services to the market, and thus significantly increase their competitiveness. The cloud enables the use of innovative technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, without making significant investments in one’s own hardware and software. Access to high computing power allows large volumes of data to be analysed in real time, making it possible to offer innovative tailored services or automate complex compliance and risk processes. The cloud also allows for significant efficiency gains in developing and testing new applications and systems.

The report addresses the following topics:

  • - adoption of cloud computing in banking,
  • - regulatory and technological conditions for implementing cloud solutions (and within this topic: regulatory barriers identified during cloud technology implementations, the scope of application of the relevant UKNF Communication, Q&A published by the UKNF, the contractual relationship with the cloud computing service provider, the outsourcing chain, liability of the cloud computing service provider for damage caused to clients, amendments to the Banking Law),
  • - business initiatives concerning the creation of data centres and cloud implementations, in Poland and worldwide,
  • - policies, strategies and initiatives concerning cloud computing (European Data Strategy, Digital Finance Strategy, DORA Regulation, NIS 2, GAIA-X),
  • - activities of foreign and domestic financial supervisory authorities. 

The full report is available at: https://fintechpoland.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ChmuraObliczeniowa_raport-2021-3.pdf