Local financial and insurance companies now have a secure place to submit their innovation ideas, services and test new products by visiting the North Carolina Regulatory Sandbox website. The site allows business owners to apply for an interim exemption from the N.C. Innovation Council for ideas typically blocked by state regulations.
The site recently launched, after the newly formed Innovation Council worked on the platform for a year since legislation establishing the "regulatory sandbox" was passed in October 2021. Companies can use the space temporarily and are under guidance from the council, comprised of 11 members.
Those members include Tariq Bohkari, Charlotte City Council member and leader of the Carolina Fintech Hub; government regulators appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper; and experts in finance and technology.
Interested entrepreneurs must submit an application fee of $50 and, if accepted, the company is asked to pay $450 to utilize the regulatory sandbox.
Bokhari said all types of businesses and entrepreneurs can apply. The key eligibility requirements, he added, are that the company has a physical presence in North Carolina and provides a product or service to consumers.
“The launch of the North Carolina Regulatory Sandbox site is a milestone a lot of people have been working towards for quite some time now,” Bokhari said. “This marks the moment when the N.C. Innovation Council will begin accepting applications from startups to corporations that have an idea and interest to participate in the sandbox. These ideas are foundational in determining what the Innovation Council will focus on, and ultimately what the regulatory sandbox will become.”
