Firms across the globe could massively benefit from the adoption of open finance, however, as noted in The MENA FinTech Association (MFTA) Open Banking Working Group and the Arab Regional FinTech Working Group‘s report titled ‘Open finance: A framework for the Arab region is more than a question of scope’, both firms and regulators could face challenges from its introduction into the Arab region.
The report foresees the need for a change in the way firms think about and use data and it argues that open finance may require cultural shifts around the globe. That is because open finance, the report says, is not just about a bigger or broader version of open banking. It is a fundamentally new development.
Nameer Khan, Chairman and Founding Board Member, MFTA said, “Unlike open banking, open finance brings together a host of participants across financial services. Any hierarchical notion of data providers and third-party recipients is long gone. In its place is a level playing field where all parties may share or receive data as part of a collaborative ecosystem.”
Hakan Eroglu, MFTA Open Banking Working Group Lead, and Global Open Banking Lead, Advisors at Mastercard, said, “Yet open finance is more than open banking with a broader scope. Where an open banking framework is designed to spur the innovation of products and services, open finance takes those products and services and then connects them across a shared framework as well. The result is a consistent and richer customer experience regardless of the businesses involved.”
Kareem Refaay, Managing Director, The London Institute of Banking and Finance MENA, said, “As part of our mission to contribute to the region, we are proud to support MFTA in developing and publishing the new Open Finance Report. Along with contributions from stakeholders, the report will ensure access to regional insights and knowledge sharing across open finance.”
Open finance: A framework for the Arab region is more than a question of scope was presented at the annual Fintech Abu Dhabi 2021 festival ( 22-24 November 2021) and launched on 6th December 2021. It follows the publication last year of MFTA OBWG’s first report Open banking: A vision from the Arab world.
Open finance: A framework for the Arab region is more than a question of scope includes the insights of many regional and international experts. We would like to extend our thanks to all of them:
- Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)
- Arab Monetary Fund (AMF)
- Arthur D Little
- Codebase Technologies
- Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC)
- The London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF)
- Mastercard
- OneConnect Financial Technology
- Tarabut Gateway
