One-liner: Spain's fintech/insurtech/regtech regulatory sandbox — a controlled testing environment (Ley 7/2020) where financial-innovation projects run live under direct supervision of Banco de España, CNMV and DGSFP, coordinated by the Secretaría General del Tesoro y Financiación Internacional — twice-yearly cohorts (March and September).
What a founder gets
- A regulator-supervised live test of a fintech/insurtech/regtech MVP, with a bespoke "protocolo de pruebas" fixing scope, duration, phases and safeguards — full instrument detail on National Financial Sandbox (Program).
- A five-phase, time-boxed cycle per cohort: (1) 30 business days to submit an access request once a call opens; (2) 1 month (extendable +1 month) prior evaluation by supervisors; (3) negotiation of the test protocol with admitted projects; (4) the testing period itself (duration set in the protocol); (5) exit — request full authorisation to operate, or wind down, plus a mandatory results memoria and a supervisory conclusions report.
- Regulatory credibility signal for investors/partners — participation itself doesn't grant an operating licence, but demonstrates supervisor engagement.
- Alternative "innovation hub" channels if a project isn't sandbox-ready: Banco de España's fintech-innovation query channel, the CNMV Portal Fintech (fintech@cnmv.es), and DGSFP's sandbox mailbox (sandbox.dgsfp@economia.gob.es) — useful lighter-touch entry points before committing to a full cohort.
Who it's for
- Fintech, insurtech and regtech projects with at least an MVP — Art. 5 of Ley 7/2020 requires the innovation to be "sufficiently advanced to be tested" (a minimum viable product demonstrating utility/viability) and to add value via regulatory compliance, consumer benefit, market efficiency, or improved regulation/supervision mechanisms.
- Open to any promoter, established firm or startup — no prior financial licence required to apply.
- See Innsomnia for a private-sector accelerator specializing in fintech/insurtech corporate matchmaking as a complementary (non-regulatory) route.
How to engage
- Monitor tesoro.es/sandbox for the next cohort's opening Resolución (calls run semi-annually, observed March/September pattern).
- Submit via the Tesoro's sede electrónica within the 30-business-day window once a call opens.
- If unsure of fit, use the alternative innovation-hub contacts above before applying to a full cohort.
- Full step-by-step application detail: National Financial Sandbox (Program).
Key facts
- Legal basis: Ley 7/2020, de 13 de noviembre, para la transformación digital del sistema financiero.
- Coordinating authority: Secretaría General del Tesoro y Financiación Internacional (Dirección General del Tesoro y Política Financiera), Paseo del Prado 6, 28014 Madrid.
- Joint supervisory authorities: Banco de España, CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores), DGSFP (Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones) — no single one "owns" the sandbox; it's a tri-authority framework under Tesoro coordination.
- Cohort cadence: two calls/year (March, September); each cohort follows the 5-phase cycle above. Page last updated by Tesoro 28 May 2024 per the live site (captured 2026-07-02) — status/verify whether cadence/process has since changed.
- Tesoro publishes biennial Sandbox reports (2022–2023, 2024–2025 editions referenced).
- Important nuance: passing through the sandbox does not itself grant authorisation to operate — it is strictly limited to the signed test protocol; a separate authorisation request is needed to go live commercially.
Relations
- See also: Fintech (niche)
- See also: Testbeds (support)
- See also: Valencia Urban Sandbox
- See also: Innsomnia
- Runs: National Financial Sandbox (Program)