Abdolnaser Hemmati attended the closing ceremony of the 8th annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems along with Ali Divandari, head of the Central Bank Monetary and Banking Research Institute.

Making the remarks as the keynote speaker of the event, Hemmati said, “We will bring all four aspects of e-banking, monetary policy, reform of the banking system and the foreign exchange market together, and everyone gets to see the developments in the near future.”

Hemmati also said the Central Bank is working on fintech and electronic banking system.

To name a few, the winners of the conference were as follows:

In the inner banking system,

Pardazesh Ettelaat Noavaran Amin for risk analysis system got the first award and Saderat Bank of Iran stood first for customer benefits and cost analysis.

The First three top startups in that order were: Atlas team, Exir team, and Jibee Mobeh.

And in the innovation category the best teams in order were: Peeaz team, Ramitnes team, and Alef Plus.

Mostafa Norouzi on the sidelines of the 8th annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment on Wednesday noted it is of importance to protect customer’s personal banking information in electronic banking system and keep them confidential.

Norouzi added that security is a relative issue and has no absolute measure.

He further explained that people’s behavior in the social media can jeopardize their security and warned them to take caution while they use the media.

He addressed some of the challenges before the electronic banking.

The first challenge is unauthorized withdrawal from bank accounts through ‘fishing technique’; although now a newer phenomenon has arrived that can easily sale people’s account information, he explained.

Next is bank card skimming and that is when crooks use a small device to steal credit card information in an otherwise legitimate credit or debit card transaction.

He added there have been talks on increasing the punishment for cybercriminal.

He said FATA is tasked with countering various types of crimes including traditional crimes, traditional-cybercrimes.

Delivering a speech on the sidelines of the 8th annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payments on Wednesday, Ghaderi stressed that prior to utilizing the new technology in the country, we must promote cultural awareness for it.

“Every service calls for a fee”, Ghaderi noted adding that the rise of cash-related expenses in banks, will consequently jack up the interest rate.

On payment switches, the CEO of Shaparak Co said around 70 percent of fees from payment switches go to the banks and the rest is for the networks.

A payment switch is an independent entity that makes communication between different payment providers quick and easy.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, Ali Divandari, said: "Once it is asked why strategic alliance is important and if we need this alliance? The answer is yes, today our banking system needs strategic alliance more than ever."

Speaking at a press conference, he said: "We need more than ever to prevent the cost and not put pressure on depositors."

"We need these alliances, even if we want to keep the profit margin at a minimum," he said: "We have to avoid the destructive competitions that are detrimental to all of us, because these competitions will not have any winners, and ultimately it is only harmful."

Pointing out that our banks have not been able to cooperate well with each other, the director of the MBRI said: "What has been done in the insurance industry is not easy to do in the banking industry, these are the serious problems that we have in the banking system."

Why banks cannot work well together? He said: maybe cultural problems and laws and ... But it's not the case that because we are in Iran, we have this problem because there is a union in the insurance industry and risks are divided between insurance companies. The solution to this problem is the emergence of a new thinking in the banking industry to reduce the balance sheet financial pressures.

The director of the MBRI about why banks will want to be fully autocrat? He stressed that banks are unwilling to unite, and even in some banks there are examples that do not work with their own companies.

An inspiration for the creation of value on your own within the firm is not possible, added: The period of competition at any price is passed, and we do not have enough money to spend on these competitions.

He suggested that the first strategic alliance be created between the private banks' and the Bank's Coordination Council, and an association is formed that has high power. If this institution is formed with power, the Central Bank will also consult it, but it is now very fragmented and not effective.

"The Central Bank should continue to intervene, and a series of strategic alliances with Central Bank formed, like many of the IT and payments services that have been done so far," he continued.

He stated that strategic alliances should be taken seriously, and one board member should be responsible for pursuing this in each bank. He added: "When the trustee has a certain job, his task is slowly forming."

The director of the MBRI also emphasized that the measures taken in this area should be broadcasted. In other countries, the Bank Association has a lot of power that can be helpful and a step forward. Therefore, it is recommended that a focal point be formed in the form of an association between banks.

According to the Public Relations Department of Monetary and Banking Research Institute, and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8^th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Hamidreza Ahmadian, referring to the activities of new businesses in the field of Cryptocurrency, added: "We must accept the fact that, despite the legislation constraints, created, because of the demands of the society and the high profitability of the Crypto​​currency field, there are now many startups active in the field of Cryptocurrencies.

"In sanction conditions, Cryptocurrencies can help the country's economy, but we need to be more focused on the mechanism and institutionalization of cryptocurrencies," said the Director General of the Office of Innovation and Investment Support of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, saying that the regulation of cryptocurrencies is very important. If today we do not study Cryptocurrencies and take legislative measures a few years later, in addition to the backwardness, there will be problems and high costs for the country, but in the case of legislation, its benefits can be maximized and the excitement of the economic system can be avoided.

"The country currently has a dual policy for the cryptocurrencies, and the Central Bank, as a monetary and banking regulator, should work with the government to legislate and regulate the Cryptocurrency field," he said.

 Ahmadian, on the opinion of the sovereignty on the Cryptocurrency launches, noted that there are two main overviews in the field of ​​the Cryptocurrency startup; the first is that if Fintechs enter the Cryptocurrency field, they may be damaged, and then the sovereignty over legislate them. The second argument is the entry of sovereignty along with interacting with active businesses to create a framework and recognize emerging businesses in the area of ​​Cryptocurrencies in order to establish a healthy ecosystem.

Referring to the interest of foreign and domestic investors in investing in Iranian Cryptocurrency startups, he said: According to the latest figures, there are currently three foreign investors interested in cooperating and financing investments in Iranian Cryptocurrency startups. Their interest is in investing in mining foreign Cryptocurrencies; domestic investors are also interested in investing in Cryptocurrency Fintechs, but given that the rules are the main requirement for guaranteeing capital, they do not risk to invest until to declare policies in this domain.

Ahmadian emphasized: Iran is considered pristine country in the field of cryptocurrencies because, given the availability of legal infrastructure, there is a vital infrastructure for the operation of these startups, including the availability of cheap energy, which has led to investment in the field of extracting the cryptocurrencies profitable.

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held at the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29 and 30 January 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, the program of lectures, roundtables and product presentation ceremonies at the 8th Annual Conference on E-banking and Payment Systems, with the theme of Blockchain Revolution, and with the aim of discussing the latest developments in the electronic banking industry on 29th and 30th of January 2019, is being released. Among the topics of this conference are Blockchain technology and Distributed Ledgers, Cryptocurrencies, alternative payment systems, financial technologies, payment and open banking, scam, money laundering, fraud and methods of coping with it, and digital evolution.

The opening ceremony of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems will begin at 8:30 am on January 29th with the speech by Dr. Ali Divandari, the director of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, and the secretary of the Electronic Banking and Payment Systems Conference. Other speakers of the conference are Abdul-Nasser Hemmati, the Governor of the Central Bank and Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

It should be noted that on the sidelines of this conference, a specialized exhibition will be held to introduce the achievements of the country's banking service providers in the field of electronic banking and payment systems. In addition to banks and financial and credit institutions, the companies operating in the field of banking services will present their products, services and capabilities.

The top article is also scheduled to be selected at the 8th Annual Conference on E-Banking and Payment Systems; applicants can refer to the 8th E-Banking and Payment System Conference website for more information.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Davood Mohammad-Beygi, regarding the bank's new plan for authenticating mobile transactions, added: "This plan may overshadow the ease of receiving services and makes it hard for some people, but it is necessary."

"Although the change in the payment industry due to the diversity of services and people's expectations is essential, the Central Bank cannot overlook security in this area," he continued.

Mohammad-Beygi, arguing that, in presence of the rigorous regulation of banking services, it is natural that the ease of receiving services declines, stated: “The Central Bank has long been investigating a mobile-transaction authentication plan by controlling the card number and SIM card number.”

The director of payment systems continued: "We know that implementing this work in the first phase can bring some problems for people whose SIM cards are not under their own names, but the implementation of this scheme reduces fraud and other problems in this area."

"In the last two months, we prepared the information of the people's bank cards, in order to ensure more security in the card transactions," he said, stating that people’s cards information is the most important infrastructure for the implementation of the plan.

Mohammad-Beygi, regarding the scheduling of the Central Bank to force the authentication of mobile transactions, added that the timing of the implementation of this plan will definitely be determined by the full readiness of the infrastructure.

The Central Bank official stated that authentication in mobile transactions requires the establishment of two important infrastructures: "The first step is to control the mobile number and the card number, and the second step is the dynamic code in virtual payments."

The director of the Central Bank's payment systems announced the requirement for a dynamic code in banks from February, saying: “We have announced to the banks that they are required to comply with the dynamic code from February, and this will become mandatory from April of this year”.

He stressed that the dynamic code is one of the things that, along with authentication, completes the security process, and the plan is being pursued vigorously in the Central Bank.

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of Blockchain Revolution will be held at the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of January 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Mohammad Talebi, to answer the question that at what stage the studies and analysis on Blockchain technology at the Central Bank are, pointed out: “The Blockchain technology has been well-studied at the Central Bank of Iran, and its defined regulations are being finalized. However, we have a discussion on Cryptocurrency based on Blockchain technology, but Blockchain technology also provides other grounds in the financial field, which are more important, and in the Central Bank, we are reviewing the terms and conditions.”

In response to the question of whether or not a decision has been made on the Blockchain at the Central Bank, he said that the studies that are being carried out on Blockchain at the Central Bank are centralized and whatever its results, including national Cryptocurrencies or the rules on the universal Cryptocurrencies, they will be announced, as the studies have not yet been reached the stage of regulation.

He stressed that the issue of Cryptocurrency is a special domain and is not simple, therefore it seems that it cannot be judged very soon, but requires further examination.

Pointing that the discussion of universal cryptocurrencies has been raised, Talebi added: Countries are now moving towards national Cryptocurrencies which will make great differences, and capital markets are also moving towards instruments based on Blockchain.   

About the function of the conferences organized by the Central Bank, he said: “These conferences gather the views of experts on this issue. And what happens to our financial system in the new era of Blockchain technology?”

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held at the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of January 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Amir Nazemi spoke about how new businesses can influence traditional businesses: “With the introduction of new technologies, including the startups and Fintechs, two groups was created which the first one agrees to use technology to accept and engage in traditional businesses, and an opposition group that sees these technologies as a threat to their business. This is common in Iran and in the rest of the world.”

The Deputy Minister said: "Startups as new businesses are competing with traditional businesses, and for expansion, they must work with fighter’s morale to succeed."

The Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology said that the expansion of the Fintechs has led to the provision of appropriate financial services to the community, and added: "We are currently seeing a large part of the payments and transactions of the banking system are made by the new entrants of the payments sector, Fintechs, using new digital services, which shows that these businesses are very important in the payment system."

He added: "There are a number of companies that have grown enormously in the Fintechs area, and some are big companies, which shows accepting these businesses by the community and increasing the popularity of using these new businesses."

The Deputy Minister for Communications and Information Technology on Fintechs stated: Fintech companies, with the cooperation of banks, can create value added in the field of monetary and banking services; now the Iranian banking industry needs transformations in order to continue to operate and survive. New businesses can be a new season in the banking industry.

"Challenges for new Startups are huge." Said Nazemi. "A large part of these challenges comes from the government. The government is keen to issue any permit, to create golden signatures and supervisory bodies that affect the activity of new businesses."

The deputy minister continued: "Another part of the startup problems is in the sectors where the startup participate, usually there is no regulation or there are old and inconsistent rules, and the government is looking to create constraints that create many challenges for the startups."

He noted that public and social acceptance is one of the problems of new businesses that exists in Iran and there is a growing public acceptance rate; of course, the economic conditions and international communication are other challenges for the new business ecosystem.

"I believe that new businesses, including Fintechs in Iran, will succeed and their social acceptance is high enough that the government and the sovereignty accept them," said the Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of Blockchain Revolution will be held at the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of January 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Davood Mohammad-Beygi, on the Central Bank's plan for alternative payment systems in the country, stated: "The presence of new players in the future is of interest to all countries, especially our country."

He added that in Iran, the main players in the payment industry have been banks and PSP companies, and stated: "But now, the current players are not able to meet all the needs, because of the changes that have taken place, the expectations of people are changing and increasing."

The Director General of the Payment Systems Department of the Central Bank pointed to PSP2 and said: "Following the changes that have taken place in the expectations of the people and of course the variety of services, the EU has also seriously started its activity on PSP2."

Mohammad-Beygi, referring to Fintechs and financial messengers including the Blockchain, continued that the current payment systems are based on previous technologies and policies, but the Central Bank is planning to make serious changes in this area.

The official at the Central Bank also said that changes in the payment industry require a regulatory framework, and said: "We have localized some of the requirements for PSP2 in the country."

He said customer authentication, access to information, payment services companies active in this sector, the settlement of these companies and their monitoring of their activities, and others are among the most important issues that we started to localize in the country.

According to the director general of payment system department, in the past two years, the demands made by the payment industry indicate that the changes in payment are very serious, which indicates the dynamism and prosperity of the payment industry.

Mohammad-Beygi, emphasizing that the wave of changes to the payment industry will end to the operational phase with the presence of current players and the management of the regulator, restated: "Based on this, the Central Bank has regulated payment with Pardakht-Saz, Pardakht-Yar and Pardakht-Ban."

Referring to the fact that in all of the above documents, the way to oversee the payment industry and the activists in the industry clearly seen, he said: "the Central Bank has given up some activities to payment companies, but in the main bottlenecks related to money and the security of people, the Central Bank will be in charge."

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of Blockchain Revolution will be held at the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of January 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, on the sidelines of the news meeting of the 8th Electronic Banking and Payment Systems Conference, in response to a question about the monopolization of the use of some mobile application widgets at the E-banking Conference, Ali Divandari said: "If other companies are interested in cooperating with the MBRI, our colleagues welcome them. Asan Pardakht application (*733#) has no bonus points and they collaborate with the MBRI for a better coverage of the news."

About other options for Asan Pardakht, including ticket purchases, he said: this could be checked at conference. On the other hand, this should be answered by the regulators that whether all the widgets have equal opportunities?

In response to a question asked from the director of MBRI about Cryptocurrencies, he answered: the national Cryptocurrency should be taken seriously. The national Cryptocurrency can be created and introduced at the Electronic Banking Conference, and we need to seriously move towards integrating this issue into the applications and use the applications that these types of currencies can make for us.

He demanded that, in order to respond to concerns about the use of Cryptocurrencies, we should move towards regulation, and restated: "Cryptocurrencies can provide us great opportunities. These days there is a debate about the creation of a national Cryptocurrency, and various institutions are working on it, but we have not reached a definite decision so far. Using these types of currencies can solve some of the country's problems."

About the future of the use of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies in Iran, Divandari said: “The Cryptocurrency is the reality that exists and we cannot eliminate its effects. Many countries have recognized these types of currencies and moved towards regulation, and we must accept the facts and move towards regulation.”

The secretary of the 8th E-banking Conference called regulation as a factor in reducing the bad effects of Cryptocurrencies and said that in different countries have different positions on these currencies and currently the Central Bank of Iran does not recognize them and do not give them legal permits, but my point is to move towards acceptance of the facts and provide regulations for them.

On whether the view for Cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain in Iran has changed, He said that the impact of Blockchain is gradually evolving. Our banking system considered the Blockchain with little outcome, and today the world realizes that the Blockchain has a wide range of uses and carries the concept of value transfer.

"As the world is moving toward decentralization, the banking technology system in Iran is moving toward centralization," he continued. “On the other hand, our knowledge of the Blockchain is increasing and the regulatory is facing technological changes, and we should not remove it from the agenda.”

Secretary of the Eighth Electronic Banking Conference on whether or not to change the position of the Central Bank on the Cryptocurrencies? Said: "If we do not pay attention to the realities, they will impose themselves on us. The Central Bank must accept facts like any other institution."

"In the past, the Fintechs did not have a place, but today we see that each of the banks is cooperating with several different Fintechs, and Central Bank trends are subject to these changes. So we have to provide regulation for them."

In the answer to the question of the development of Cryptocurrency backed by Rials by Informatics Services Company and the nature of this Cryptocurrency, he said: According to the news, this project is about the distribution of a Cryptocurrency which is exemplified in other countries and other companies and do not devise the ability of mining which is not new.

He said: about the actions of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute in the area of ​​Cryptocurrency, we are in the research phase, and this can be practical when the Central Bank is interested in publishing the national Cryptocurrency.

Divandari on the provincial governor of Cryptocurrency in the country stated that the Central Bank is the trustee and the Ministry of Communications has also carried out activities in this area.

The head of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute in response to the question that the regulation would create a conflict for Blockchain, replied: money is a means of exchanging or valuing or maintaining value, and Cryptocurrencies also have these functions.

"Money exchanges were initially individual-based, then banks and regulations were created, and now regulations on banking transactions are annoying, and individuals cannot easily use their money, and governments have tried to solve other problems through limits on financial transactions."

"The concept of Blockchain is not that we do not have the bank and regulations, the Blockchain will have transparency, security and decentralization and macroeconomic functions, and emerging institutions and we have to see what direction we are going to move, and this is not our only challenge, but the challenge of the whole world, and central banks are studying this phenomenon."

In response to the ability of Cryptocurrency to circumvent the sanctions, he said: The government has regulated the traditional system of pursuing its goals through money and banking, it is true that the Blockchain is outside the control of the central banks of the world, but the volume of operations is not such a way as to get around the sanctions.

"Our economy is vast, and the Cryptocurrency market is a brand new market, and now it's not publicly available due to its limited publicity and business partners are not working with it, so expecting for the sanctions to be circumvented through Cryptocurrency is not real."

On monetary policy to restrict transactions and problems for economic activists, the director of the MBRI said that monetary policy is aimed at countering speculators and creating more transparency and avoiding misconduct and controlling transactions. It is done in every financial system in the world, and maybe even these were late in Iran.

"If the economic activists are faced with problems, one can think about it and solve the problems, but if the system is open, its consequences will be negative for all people," he added.

He commented on research studies about the elimination of four zero points from the national currency: MBRI had conducted a study in the past when the zero removal was proposed, and the report was submitted to the Central Bank, but the discussion of the removal of four new zeros was due to the bill of banking law and the Governor also explained that it would be a long and time consuming task.

On the issue of E-wallet and service fee discussions, which has been repeatedly debated, he stated: "This conference will raise issues in its capacity as users and regulators and stakeholders attend the conference, and place the issue on the agenda of the conference, and if there are problems with the implementation, it should not be overlooked to be raised."

Divandari continued: The subject of the fee is one of the issues that has not been resolved but, finally, it should be thought out and should not be out of the agenda. If it is not a good decision about the service fees, IT investment will be difficult.

He added: "The Central Bank is asking the MBRI to study in this area. A project in the institution has been formed and is underway, with results being submitted to the Central Bank. There are resistances in this area and if we do not resolve them it will be a problem."

The director of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute continued: "Our banking system is not cost-oriented and benefits from the interests of lending, but it varies in the world, and lending rates are considered one percent to one and a half percent higher, but in Iran, the rates should be high, because the fee is not defined."

About Iran's position in E-banking Divandari said: "We have made great progress in the field of electronic banking services, and we are among the best in services such as card services, centralized systems and money transfers. In cash transfers, we do not need checks and checks are more likely to be used as credits, but the world still uses checks and getting and clearing checks may take up to a month."

"However, on issues like Big Data and Blockchain and emerging trends, we are behind, and banks and Fintechs do not coexist peacefully. We have had neglection over Fintechs, and banks and the banking system should be more welcome to develop services."

The director of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute continued: "The card service has not been changed for many years and needs changes, and apart from a few banks, the same services are used in other banks, and if we look at these few banks, we will see that these are done by Fintechs."

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, on Monday, at the news conference with reporters of the 8th E-banking and Payment Systems Conference, Ali Divandari said: “The eighth Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held in the Milad Tower Conference Hall. The main purpose of this conference is to discuss the latest developments in the E-banking industry.”

The banks and IT companies, Fintechs, start-ups and academics are present at the conference, and in terms of the number of stakeholders attending, the conference has special status and prosperity.

He described the objectives of the conference as "explaining the trends of the banking and payment industry using the technology of the Blockchain", "the macro analysis of the international trends of electronic banking and payment systems", "the explanation and review of developments in the field of information technology with the Blockchain technology", "Exploring Barriers and Challenges to the Banking and Payment Industry", "Explaining Developments Made in the Fields of Cryptocurrencies" and "Explaining the New Financial Business Environment".

The themes of this two-day conference are "Blockchain Technology and Distributed Ledgers", "Cryptocurrencies", "Alternative Payment Systems", "Financial Technologies, Payments and Open Banking", "Fraud, Money Laundering, Scams and Ways to Combat them" and "digital evolution".

According to the director of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, it is planned to focus on issues such as the nature of technology, implementations and technologies, the regulatory framework, regulatory deficiencies, and technical and administrative standards for the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), at the core of the Blockchain Revolution theme.

"At this conference, we are trying to answer the question that if these digital currencies are a threat or complementary to traditional money, and the jurisprudential and legal issues, so the use of these instruments and its legal challenges will be debated."

"The second theme of the conference is the Cryptocurrencies, including issues such as the types of Cryptocurrencies, legal and regulatory environments, the jurisprudential issues of the Cryptocurrencies, the institutions associated with the Cryptocurrencies (exchange offices), and the use of national, regional and global Cryptocurrencies" said Divandari.

Referring to the emergence and spread of the Blockchain technology and the Cryptocurrencies in recent times, he pointed out: “The Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies, in general, will create challenges for the banking system and will revolutionize the system. They will also affect business environments, which will be discussed at the conference.”

The director of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute noted: "On the topic of control, we have always moved towards centralized concentration, but in physics and fundamental studies, it has also been proven that control cannot be achieved by solely concentration, and theories have proven its relativity, therefore, inspired by these sciences, the Blockchain is also based on decentralized control."

He continued: In the third theme, which is the alternative payment systems, issues such as alternative messenger systems, regional payment systems, and new methods of settlement and commercial payment are discussed.

The secretary of the 8th Annual Conference on E-banking and Payment Systems said: "In the fourth theme that is the financial, payment and open banking technologies, important issues such as Payment Systems Instructions, Second Edition (PSD2), Regulatory Technologies (RegTech), Payment Bank and financial technology and taxation are discussed."

According to the director of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, the fifth theme, is about fraud, money laundering, scam, and methods to deal with them. Issues such as strong authentication, macro data analysis, and the use of artificial intelligence in data recognition and data control are reviewed.

Divandari said that experts will focus on the efficiency of the banking system, process standardization, new business models, and bank and payment unions at the heart of the digital revolution.

"We see that the IT departments at banks have realized that we need both focused work in Core Banking, and we need to improve the quality and development of services, and Fintechs are small and agile groups that understand the needs of the customers and find the solution faster." he said, stating that we are witnessing day-to-day advent of various Fintechs.

The secretary of the 8th Electronic Banking Conference also referred to Dr. Nourbakhsh festival and said: "The selection of innovative banks and companies is one of the activities of the annual conference of electronic banking and payment systems, which is done in the form of competitions among participants with the observance of three benchmarks of innovativeness, applicability and potential profitability."

 He added: "This year, Dr. Nourbakhsh's festival will be held in seven sections: National Systems, In-Bank Systems, Customer Systems, Infrastructure Security, Hardware and Equipment, Platform and Social Responsibility."

Divandari also noted that next to the conference, an exhibition will be held to introduce the achievements of the country's banking service providers in the field of electronic banking and payment systems. In addition to banks and financial and credit institutions, the companies that offer banking services will also attend to introduce their services, products and capabilities.

According to the Public Relations Department of MBRI and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Nima Amirshekari said: "The world has been moving towards credit cards for over 30 years, the most famous of which are Visa and Master Cards with American infrastructure and its settlement systems that is located in American banks."

He pointed out that after the 2007 financial crisis in the world, which was mostly due to the bankruptcy of American businesses and expanded to Europe and Asia, banks and financial institutions were worried about the recurrence of the incident and the impact on the European economy from American economic problems. Because the use of US credit cards throughout the European Union was prevalent.

"The European Union pursued its goal of reducing its dependence on the United States and creating independence with the separation of the European Union's payment system from the United States," he added. "Using the new technology, the payment industry expanded to non-card platforms."

He continued: All non-card platforms ended up at a bank account number, so the European Union began to negotiate the account as a transaction originator, and the PSD2 standard created in the union.

Referring to extensive investments by banks and large corporations in order to implement the PSD2 guidelines, Amirshekari pointed out: In 2007 and 2008, banks started planning and standardizing for the presentation of various IPAs.

He stressed the need to implement PSD2 guidelines due to quick growth of Fintechs and said: "The use of modern technologies and the rapid growth and development of Fintechs has led the European Central Bank to oblige banks to enforce PSD2 Guidelines to Fintechs and offer free IPAs to these businesses."

Amirshekari pointed out that Fintechs did not have the ability to deal with banks, and in partnership with a bank, when the activity of this sector was developed, banks increased the cost of providing services, and Fintechs had to go to another bank to continue operating which the cost of switching was high. Thus, with the requirement for banks to provide free IPAs to Fintechs, the cost of switching was reduced for them.

Referring to the definition of 27-28 services on PSD2 so far, he noted: In January 2019, the provision of a series of mandatory services has been made and in September 2019, the entire service should have been deployed to EU Banks and be made available to the market and Fintechs.

Director of the Electronic Banking Department at the Monetary and Banking Research Institute said: "There is a good way to provide open banking services in the country, and several companies are currently providing services to banks and customers, but in order to succeed and direct their activities, they must comply with the standards of the PSD2 Directives. "

Amirshekari, emphasizing that the provision of open banking services in the country is based on the bank card, said: "Because of the successful experience of the world in this sector, in our country the activities of open banking services should be directed to the bank account. Because there is a strong authentication in providing open banking services with tokenizing method that allows banks to let the client to select the service and the required apps to withdraw from their bank accounts with their own approval. "

He recalled: Access permits to withdraw from the account of individuals with the approval of the person in open banking is possible and by implementing a strong authentication, the banking system finds the ability to provide new banking services. Therefore, the improvement of the payment industry and the banking system of the country should be consistent with the implementation of the PSD2 guidelines.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Shahriar Khalili, on open banking and banking system of Iran, added: “Iran’s banking system has a meaningful gap with open banking due to the lack of necessary infrastructure. And eliminating it requires a lot of efforts by banks to strengthen and improve the software infrastructure so as to reduce the gap between the banking system of Iran and the global trend and to provide required customer service.”

The CEO urged the nation to pay attention to the need to review the banking system's processes for moving towards open banking in the country, and added: “I believe that the banking system processes should be reviewed in the first step and then tailored to the processes that required in the establishment of the open banking system, we need to make the necessary forecasts and place the software designs on the agenda.”

Referring to the role of Fintechs and startup businesses in open banking in Iran, he said: “I believe Fintechs and startup businesses play an extremely important role in the pursuit of open banking, because Fintechs are more excited than payment systems and banks and are keen to offer different services to existing businesses and can definitely accelerate the process of moving towards open banking and encourage banks to establish these systems.”

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference of Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of Blockchain Revolution will be held at the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Alireza Nobakht said: “Blockchain technology is based on a Distributed Ledger. In this context, all transactions are based on the Internet and the history of all transactions and records of the assets of individuals are kept on this ledger.”

“In Blockchain technology data is kept in the public domain rather than a central database, and the blocks are encrypted and linked together and sent to the entire network,” he said. “Therefore, all the records sent to the network will remain unchanged, which makes any fraud impossible.”

Nobakht added: “In addition, using the Blockchain platform, we can carefully monitor and report suspicious customer activities.”

The sales deputy of GSS said: "It's said that Blockchain will revolutionize business processes in the financial industry and lead to a fundamental change in banks and financial institutions around the world. Hence, banks are investing in this technology to maintain their place in the center of power in financial transactions."

Nobakht emphasized: Large financial institutions are exploring ways to implement Blockchain technology to reduce transaction costs, increase transaction speed, eliminate multiple transactions, and reduce transaction fraud.

He described the Blockchain as one of the most successful Fintech projects, saying: "The Blockchain has had very positive and constructive impacts on the upgrading of Fintechs, and by eliminating the intermediaries, it has facilitated access to services and reduced costs."

Noobakht pointed out that the use of Blockchain technology can increase the speed of overseas payment processes. He noted: “The ease and speed of transactions on this platform, by eliminating conventional customary intermediaries, reduced the risk of money transfer process and secured online trading, and reduced risk due to currency fluctuations.”

The sales deputy of GSS acknowledged that the Blockchain technology and the Cryptocurrencies are a real threat to the SWIFT system, and said: Ripple, using its own cryptocurrencies (XRPs), which has the role of intermediary currency in exchanges, is a Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) to convert a variety of currencies, transfers, and settlements, to make international financial transactions instantly and without limitation.

By focusing on extending the scope of Blockchain in transferring funds in emerging markets, Nobakht said: "The synchronization and implementation of financial solutions based on Blockchain technology can increase financial participation and growth in global capital markets."

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held at the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Naser Hakimi, while explaining the government's view on Cryptocurrencies, expressed the latest news in this regard and stated: “The Cryptocurrencies, like any other phenomenon are a threat, and an opportunity; it is natural to resist change in a cultural and traditional way, and perhaps because of a normal human reaction.”

He added: “When a new phenomenon comes, the first approach may be denying, and we naturally focus on the threat and the detriment to deny it.”

The vice governor of the Central Bank’s IT Technologies, emphasizing that the same thing applies to the Cryptocurrencies, stated: "Perhaps in the first stage a conservative view focuses on the risks that exist, of course, they exist and are real."

Hakimi continued: “But the fact is that human intelligence or policy-makers should be guided by the advantages of the new phenomenon (and, in our view, which is independent, whether we want or not, will come), and take care of potential hazards.

He also said that the same thing is happening about the Cryptocurrencies: “The Cryptocurrencies are risky in terms of money laundering, the unobservability of some transactions, the withdrawal of foreign currency, and the disturbance in the monetary system, which are not hidden, but on the one hand it creates opportunities for the system that we can use to provide alternative monetary exchange systems.

Advantages of Cryptocurrencies/securing non-productive assets and creating transparency in the monetary system

The vice governor of the Central Bank's IT technologies, emphasizing that Cryptocurrencies create tremendous transparency in monetary transactions, also stated that the Cryptocurrencies could also securitize non-productive assets.

He added that the Cryptocurrency gives the monetary system an exceptional opportunity in terms of the transparency that it brings, and added, “This issue is particularly true for liquefying and tradability of assets, which has no other solution at present.”

Hakimi considered the solutions based on institutionalization to be very complicated and said: That is why this has not been achieved so far. But Blockchain, by eliminating the middle enterprises, can make the development of these products in the form of a Cryptocurrency and other products properly.

"We must, more than anything else, have the intelligence to identify the risks and threats and adopt appropriate policies, we should not lose opportunities because of the risks," said the vice governor of the Central Bank’s IT technologies.

Why did not the Central Bank policies declare the Cryptocurrencies? / The Cryptocurrency is currently in the queue for review.

In response to the question that the Central Bank had already announced the policy of the bank for the Cryptocurrencies until the end of September 2018, but there were no news in this regard, and what was the reason? He said: “Our plan was to announce the Central Bank's policy on the Cryptocurrency by the end of September, and the policies have even been formulated. However, given the many engagements that decision makers have in this regard, these policies are still in the queue for review.

Hakimi restated: “The fact is that, technically and editorially, work has been completed in the same period, but has since been reviewed by the policymaker and the people who need to decide on this.”

I do not communicate with the so-called national Cryptocurrency / The Central Bank's prospective program for different Cryptocurrencies.

The Central Bank’s official also responded that he is not able to communicate with the national Cryptocurrency because there might be different Cryptocurrencies for different types of uses and national Cryptocurrency is not necessarily working.

I use the term of “Cryptocurrency based on Rial” rather than the national Cryptocurrency, which is a monetary regulation debate, and is partly the policy I have already mentioned that to have a Cryptocurrency based on the Rial, gold, currency and other assets or a self-sufficient and autonomous Cryptocurrency.

Hakimi said: “In order to deal with each of these Cryptocurrencies, we should have their specific viewpoint as to which laws and regulations they are included and which bodies are monitoring them.

He emphasized that, therefore, having "National Cryptocurrency" and no other currency would be a simplistic argument. He added. "I think that the necessary policy in this regard should be based on freeing up the environment and establishing the necessary constraints and frameworks in the domain of the Cryptocurrencies."

He expressed his hope that the Central Bank's policy announcement on the Cryptocurrencies in the months remaining of 1397 and said: “I think this will happen this year, and the policies of the Central Bank will be announced; the announcement of policies is largely a policy stance of the policymaker on the Cryptocurrencies and on the other hand, the situation will be transparent along with the awareness of the sovereign’s view for those who want to work in this field.”

Karim Khamseh, Chairman of the Board of Novin Payment Company, spoke about the role of the new businesses in the industry, and said: “Providing free services, in addition to preventing future development, by creating shareholding phenomena in the payment industry, it also threatens the current situation.” According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems.

"This process has led to the arrival of players who, while not providing any service, sometimes asking for payment service fees, and as an uninvited guest at the table, claiming rights," he added.

Khamseh reminded: “Expansion of enterprises, including banks and corporations and payment companies will always tend to slow down the speed and agility in these institutions. If the continuity of competition, the maintenance and promotion of market share requires the provision of new services, this paradox is emerging as a challenge.”

The chairman of Novin Payment stated: “The entry of new players into the industry, which has greater agility and risk-taking as compared to older and larger companies, can be a solution to the challenge, ultimately leading to a coexistence and sharing of benefits between banks and these businesses and by offering value added services on this platform, Fintechs can provide their own and the old players’ utility and profit.

He noted: “Creating a pay-as-you-go phenomenon in the payment industry, which means sharing a pay-as-you-go transaction fee over the use of PSP services, raises the risk that, if the linking and sharing of benefits in this case is not well managed, the entry of new players in this space may spark this phenomenon.”

The Chairman of the Board said: “Protecting businesses with the extreme and ineffective ways widespread in the country also led to the loss of resources on one side and the disruption of the businesses on the other side.” He stressed: “We must take advantage of past experiences in the present time, and do not repeat them again.”

"The biggest problem is the lack of business models for this cooperation." He explains in a statement on the challenges in collaboration between PSP and Fintech. “Because the free transaction has made the arrival of these new players as a new partner in the profit of fixed earnings, and it's natural that old players will be less willing to give in to Fintechs companies.”

The expert in the field of payment pointed out: "Throughout the world, providing e-banking services and payments are subject to fees from the ultimate beneficiary, and if Fintechs can provide more valuable services to their users at lower cost, they will be welcomed."

Khamseh added, "Therefore, bigger banks and institutions are looking for cooperation with Fintechs, and they are not looked at as a new partner or uninvited guest over the table."

He reminded that some of the Fintech companies in the country are currently charging fees for the services they are providing, which should be welcomed and manage the process in a way that the industry’s competitive atmosphere does not push these businesses towards cheap or low-cost services.

He added that the income of these new players in the competitive market, if limited to their share of the pay-as-you-go transactions received in partnership with payment companies, would only lead to a reduction in the incomes of the infrastructure companies and would be harmful to both groups.

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held in the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.

Mohammad Talebi said: “Most problems in the current financial world, such as fraud and counterfeiting will be solved and will change completely with the Enhanced Encrypt system in Blockchain.” according to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems.

On the importance and necessity of serious research about Blockchain technology, with the premise that Blockchain is a new technology that is being introduced and is expected to be a major development in the world after the Internet, Talebi added: “It is predicted that Blockchain brings all the Internet-created structures into a new paradigm and make significant changes.”

He said that the big changes in the financial system would be the ones that Blockchain technology would bring, and the financial system is expected to change greatly in the Blockchain era.

The Secretary General of the Central Bank described Blockchain's most important feature as a restructuring of the centralized financial system and explained that, based on this technology, the structures based on "centralized financial management institutions" would change, and they will be managed in the so-called Distributed Ledger Technology, which is Blockchain technology.

He added that the world's financial systems are currently based on centralized entities, for example, Swift runs all transactions between countries around the world, and central banks in countries operate all financial transactions within a country, but Blockchain technology changes this paradigm. That means there will not be any centralized monitoring, and everything will happen in the network.

Talebi said: “The financial system will enter the interesting world after Blockchain, for example, that Crowd financing, or collective financing, is a new phenomenon in the financial field, and I believe it will have a new form with Blockchain technology, as well as the supervision of regulatory agencies that will be applied in a different way, while the way of contribution and investment and the presence of people in the financial system will take place in a more Privacy state (Privacy and Security).

The secretary general of the Central Bank predicted that many of the problems in the current financial world, such as forgery and fraud will completely change with the Enhanced Encrypt system in Blockchain.

Talebi, pointing out to the discussion of Cryptocurrencies (Universal Cryptocurrencies), continued: countries are now moving towards national Cryptocurrencies that will make major developments, also capital markets are moving towards tools that are based on Blockchain.

He spoke about the conferences organized by the Central Bank on this issue, saying that these conferences could gather the views of experts on what happens in our financial system in the new era of Blockchain technology.

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchaina Revolution will be held in the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Mohsen Azizi added: “One of the security areas that is widely used in non-banking services of the banks is authentication technology. One of the strategies to deal with money laundering is to use strong authentication methods.”

“Today, the dynamism and security of a system is verified by authentication,” he added. “Therefore, a system with no authentication is known as an unsafe system.”

The expert in the field of payment stated: “Authentication is largely based on information and data. Of course, the traditional authentication method in the country is old-style and is done in person in bank branches by matching the faces of individuals with identification documents, such as national cards.”

Azizi emphasized: “Authentication data is very valuable and, if combined, processed and analyzed in one place, will facilitate access and remote authentication operations in the future.”

He highlighted remote authentication as the most important factor in providing remote services to the financial industry, and noted: Strong authentication is one of the most important factors in the development of remote services and the move towards digital banking in which biometric technology has a significant role.

Azizi continued: “Biometric authentication, which is the authentication of individuals by measuring the unique characteristics of the human body, is one of the strongest types of authentication that depends on the type of devices and algorithms used.”

"The best practices in this area is the use of biometric authentication, which is based on the technology and have been used in intelligent national smart cards. The fingerprint scanning, electronic signature, and eye iris in the National Intelligent Execution Card and the biometric information of each individual has been registered in an integrated system in the registered domain," said the field expert on the question of how best to use strong authentication to prevent fraud and money laundering in relation to the infrastructure and laws of the country.

Azizi said, collecting identity information and using biometrics as one of the best ways to apply strong authentication to deal with money laundering. Using Face Detection or fingerprint, which is currently implemented in smartphones with the development of technology, is a good way that can be implemented in the financial industry, which has been implemented in Mobile Banking of some financial institutions.

"The data is a good source for analyzing how the customer’s transaction behavior are that is applied to identify fraud types," said the consultant of the Informatics Services Company on developing new technologies and data governance as a way to identify and counter fraud and money laundering in the financial industry.

Azizi pointed out: “Identifying fraud and money laundering in the payment industry that is card based, using data, and analyzing customer behavioral information are good tools for preventing fraud and providing timely warnings to customers and payment companies in detecting fraud and money laundering.”

The field expert added, "The algorithms used to analyze customer behavior play an important role in detecting fraud and suspicious transactions." However, customer behavior information in the banking and payment industry is not only effective in preventing fraud but also in improving business models.

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held in the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarters of the 8^th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Shahriar Khalili commented on the benefits of cooperating with FinTechs by providing open banking services in the industry, saying that the most important advantage of this cooperation is that FinTechs, with the introduction of fees for their services they provide, lead to the promotion of commission-based culture in the banking and payment industry and increase profitability in this sector.

Referring to the growing activity of innovative businesses in the country, he pointed out: "The various businesses in their financial transactions use the services of FinTech and startup companies, and the services that these businesses offer, in some cases, are in close competition with payment companies."

Khalili noted: “The cooperation of FinTechs and payment companies will bring innovation, increase access to financial services, facilitate complex administrative processes, increase efficiency and create new business opportunities that ultimately affect people's quality of life.”

The company's CEO noted that the general acceptance of FinTechs, which quickly by simplified relationship could provide solutions to improve customer experience with offering a wide range of high value added services, made these new businesses a serious threat to the banks.

He stated that the banks of the world, by offering Open Banking services, turned this threat to the opportunity and chose the cooperation with the FinTechs as one of the strategies to maintain their survival.

Khalili stated: Open Banking, as a new paradigm that is rapidly emerging in the banking world has become an inescapable choice and has expanded the range of banking operations into an area beyond the banking network. Therefore, the banks of the country should join it as soon as possible.

Managing director of Beh-Pardakht Company, with paying attention to the fact that financial companies are seeking to develop the market and attract mass users, said: “The high capacity of FinTechs and Startups in the field of financial services has made cooperation with these innovative businesses a necessity for banks.”

“Therefore, if the banks of the country do not start cooperating with FinTechs by providing open bank services through APIs, they will gradually lose a big market.” he added.

Khalili noted: “The high potential of FinTechs and Startup companies in the field of financial services as well as the position of banks in the financial industry has led to a symbiosis and bilateral partnership in this section.”

The Mellat Beh-Pardakht Company's CEO insisted: “To provide open banking services, the banks' infrastructure should also be able to provide such services. Therefore, the agility of the bank in providing open bank services is also important in this regard.”

In response to the question that banks in the country are agile enough to provide open banking services, said: “Some banks have provided the opportunity to provide open banking services and actively cooperate with FinTech companies by creating appropriate infrastructure in their organizations.”

Khalili added, “But some of the country's banks do not have the necessary infrastructure to move towards open banking, which should seek to resolve the problem as soon as possible in order to maintain their position in the market.”

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held in the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute and quoted by the news headquarter of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, Nima Amirshekari added: "With regard to the issues concerning the prohibition of the exchange of cryptocurrencies in the country by the Central Bank and the contravention of this policy with the theme of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, it is necessary to point out that the Blockchain technology and Cryptocurrencies are two different issues that are to be discussed at the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems and the correct uses of the Blockchain is debated so that the country's banking and payments officials get familiar with this technology, and improve their knowledge and awareness of the issue.

He added: “Using the various applications of this technology in the banking and payment industry will create added value for banks, and industry activists will be guided on how to enter this area at the 8th Annual Conference of Electronic Banking and Payment Systems.”

Amirshekari argued: DLT or Distributed Ledger Technology is a general technology on how to use extensive databanks to update database and spread on the network nodes. In the Pyramid Technology of DLT and its applications, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is located at the bottom of the pyramid.

He pointed out: The most widely used of the Distributed Ledger Technology is in extensive databases, which has been among scientific and academic topics since the past 20 years. One of the derivatives of this technology, which has a narrower range, is the Blockchain Technology, which uses the (DLT) to connect transactions.

Amirshekari continued: This means that Blockchain utilizes the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to connect records in a chain that can be traced and tracked through transactions on this platform.

He reminded that Blockchain technology is very effective for interconnected transactions, one of the uses of this technology is the registration of financial records, which are most used in banking and payment industries.

The payment technology expert acknowledged that Blockchain technology could be used for voting, Know-Your-Customer authentication (KYC) and other multiple cases, and one of its primary uses is in the area of ​​Cryptocurrency. Hence, the production of a Cryptocurrency that can function with or without backing on a specific route is one of dozens of applications of this technology.

He emphasized: Bitcoin is also a kind of Cryptocurrency that there is a lot of doubts about it, like the lack of backing for it, being untraceable and its high volatility. Of course, it's important to note that Bitcoin is one of the millions of DLTs and Blockchain derivatives that can be used for money laundering and criminal exploitation.

Amirshekari emphasized: The 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems is named after the Blockchain technology, due to the importance of this technology. Because in all the IT trends in the financial industry, the Blockchain is considered as one of the evolving innovations in the banking industry in a 5 to 10 years’ time frame.

Referring to the fact that the Blockchain technology has a different nature from Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, as the research arm of the Central Bank, intends to focus on the Blockchain applications in the banking, financial, and payment industry at the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, to raise the awareness of banking industry activists about the implementation of unnecessary projects that would only lead to the loss of resources.

Amirshekari emphasized: The Monetary and Banking Research Institute, as the Central Bank's academic arm, will discuss the uses of the Blockchain technology and the benefits of using this platform in the banking and payment industry, and specifies the direction of the banks in this area.

He continued: “Examining the different dimensions of the Blockchain technology and its applications, is a reflection of the differences between this technology and the Cryptocurrencies, which leads banks and activists of this sector to choose, with a deeper knowledge, the objectives of investing in this sector. Importantly, one of the reasons for the naming of the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems was the Blockchain Revolution.”

The director of the Electronic Banking Department at the Monetary and Banking Research Institute said that promoting transparency in the financial and banking industry is one of the most important benefits of using the Blockchain. “Of course, in some cases it is mistaken that the technology cannot be tracked out but there are applications such as the KYC mechanism and the authentication mechanism which prove opposite. One of the uses of Blockchain is the authentication and identification of individuals in financial networks, which is different from the previous known methods for which the rules and regulations have been laid down. Hence, the Blockchain carries out the process of authentication with new and consensus methods, i.e., which uses mathematical mechanisms for the identification of maximum and minimum members of the network.

According to him, mathematical mechanisms are far more powerful than traditional mechanisms. For example, authentication in the bank will be done by matching the national card with the face of the people, however in Blockchain, the process of authentication is performed with various technological tools, including biometrics, which includes face detection, sound, eye iris, and fingerprint.

Director of the Electronic Banking Department of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute, continued, “In the Blockchain, there is a database of all biometric indicators, which, in lieu of the human factor, computer performs the authentication mechanism. Of course, this platform has the advanced capabilities, which does not operationally allow replacing the record of biometric indicators of individuals with counterfeit records, since the inscription of each record in a Blockchain is subject to confirmation by the majority of the network.

According to him, authentication in the Blockchain networks is not necessarily bad, but is a new method that, if understood and legislated, can be used efficiently.

He emphasized: The advantages of using the Blockchain in the financial industry and its differences with Cryptocurrencies are the issues that should be discussed at the Electronic Banking Conference so that those with more information can make this knowledge available to all professionals and activists in banking and payment network.

Amirshekari said all the speakers and lecturers of the conference are those who are fully aware of the Blockchain technology and can be effective in leading the banking system in the Blockchain area. Also, foreign and domestic speakers, and representatives of large domestic and international companies have been invited to discuss issues related to raising the awareness of banking and payment activists, as in previous years.

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held in the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.

The CEO of Informatics Services Company emphasized: No country can prevent the use of this technology in other countries, but if there is an agreement on regional payments on Blockchain platform, a bank that exchanges currency-backed securities in regional agreements in order to settle transactions can be banned.

“Many experts say that with cryptocurrencies, sanctions are circumvented, while the cryptocurrency base is the use of Blockchain technology, and it cannot be used as a tool in the subject of sanctions management in regional and international exchanges.” he said in a speech on new methods for settlement and commercial payments in international financial transactions.

He considered the political and economic agreements between governments on the Blockchain platform with the use of cryptocurrencies, to be the most important issue in international exchanges, saying that this has faced a number of complexities on how to settle international financial transactions and who or which institution in which country is the settlement agent. But the most important issue is the cryptocurrency used in regional and international financial exchanges.

The CEO of Informatics Services Company, arguing that assets that agreed upon by all countries should be considered as cryptocurrency backing for regional exchanges, which can be gold, Dollar and Euro, added: “If such agreements are formed, at next stages, storage of backing in the agent bank, as an institution for settlement, must be done.”

Najafi noted: The above are the main challenges in conducting financial exchanges with cryptocurrencies and, if these obstacles are not resolved, this novel financial instrument cannot be used in the region for commercial exchanges.

He argued that major trade exchanges are being made by economic actors, emphasizing that motivating and encouraging economic actors to take advantage of Blockchain is another factor to be taken into consideration, but merchants confidence in a robust legal framework for financial exchanges on Blockchain platform, and the guarantee for the security of information and the risk of transactions at the time of implementation has particular importance in using cryptocurrencies to manage regional financial and trading exchanges.

It should be noted that the 8th Annual Conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems with the theme of the Blockchain Revolution will be held in the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.

On description how RegTechs work in the tax field, he stated: “There are US platforms in the tax area, most notably TURBOTAX. In this country, since taxes are collected from individuals, individuals face numerous problems in filing tax returns.”

Namdari added: Filing tax returns is technically not in a way that anyone can do alone. Therefore, there are number of startups in this section that allow individuals to complete electronic filing of tax returns. Also, these companies take responsibility for interacting with tax authorities to handle personal declarations at speed, without misconduct and abuse.

Deputy Director for Development and Innovation of Tose’ Farda  emphasized that the entry of Fintechs into the US tax area has resulted in timely and correct payment of taxes by individuals and getting it at a timely and correct manner in the tax organization. These businesses are private and platform-based in other countries.

He stressed that "RegTech Startups" are online businesses designed to facilitate processes between the authorities, the government and citizens and their activities are also relevant to the tax area.

Namdari noted: In Iran, about 15 to 20 years ago, when the comprehensive tax plan was launched, the issue of the entry of number of companies that contribute to accounting and tax processing was taken into consideration. Therefore, if RegTech startups are created in the tax area, they can improve, accelerate and facilitate this operation.

"Three major obstacles have led to the lack of development of RegTechs in the country, with the first obstacle is that the Iranian government is extremely conservative and cautious in providing information access to the outside and unlocking of the APIs." he said, referring to the obstacles that led to the absence of the RegTechs.

Namdari stated: the second obstacle is the absence of a clear and explicit rules for the cooperation of online businesses and government agencies, saying that the lack of regulatory in providing G2C (providing information between government and citizens) and G2B services (providing information between government and private companies) has made the activities of RegTechs harder in the country.

Referring to the activity of the virtual government counter office, he acknowledged that the government has accepted access only to this level, but the communication and cooperation of state institutions with the private sector are subject to legal constraints.

The expert in the field of payment said: “The third obstacle is the mental and psychological impact of the cooperation of innovative businesses and the private sector with the government in the field of e-commerce.” He said: “The lack of cooperation with government institutions due to unpredictability of policies as well as misconduct is a serious obstacle to the development of RegTechs in all areas and especially in the tax area.”

It should be noted that the eighth annual conference of electronic banking and payment systems with the theme of the Block of China's Revolution will be held in the center of the Milad Tower Conference Hall on 29th and 30th of Janurary 2019.