Belarus

According to the Global Findex Database, 79% of Belarussians had access to the internet at the end of 2020.

In 2019, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), through its Legal Transition Programme, advised the National Bank of Belarus on the implementation of the new Payment Services Act, which aimed to modernise the payment services sector by transposing significant parts of the PSD2. The recommendations focused on implementing the SCA requirements and procedures for obtaining customer consent, making payments secure, protecting customer data and using the methodology to supervise PSPs by the National Bank.

81% of Belarussian adults had bank accounts at the end of 2020, leaving 19% unbanked.

Belarus has been extending financial services to underserved segments of its population. Over the last decade, the federal government has introduced policies aimed at bringing more customers and small businesses into the formal financial system. The National Bank of Belarus (NBB) and three government ministries—Finance, Economy, and Labour and Social Protection—have committed to reviewing their respective policies for increasing access to finance.

Belarus is home to a growing Fintech startup ecosystem that now hosts more than 100 Fintech companies and applications, according to the latest Belarus Fintech Map by the Belarus Fintech Hub and the Center for Economic Research. 

Belarus ranks 25th in the global science and technology skills and 23rd in the mean years of schooling with 12.3 years. However, there is more demand than supply for IT sector specialists in Belarus.