This announcement comes twelve months after the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced its open banking policy, designed to support Vision 2030 objectives focused on increasing competition and raising efficiency and trust in the financial services sector.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will leverage the past achievement and know-how of Open Banking Europe and the OBE communities in Southeast Asia and Latin America to accelerate the implementation of open banking in the country. OBE has a proven track record of building collaborative environments and helps its members implement effective and interoperable open solutions based on jurisdiction-neutral technology frameworks. By working with regulators, self-regulated organisations (SROs), and national communities, OBE helps turn vision into operational reality.

On 9 February 2022, OBE will host a public webinar focused on the open banking landscape in Saudi. This event is the first in a series of public events, working groups and member forums enabling financial institutions, fintechs and service providers to discuss market issues and regulatory requirements. OBE will share its expertise and insight via guidance, standards and tools drawing upon success and challenges from other regions.

Saleh ALhammad, SVP Open Banking Exchange, stated: “This is a hugely exciting time for open banking in Saudi Arabia. The open banking framework is going live this year, and we’ll see an explosion of competition and new services within financial services. To enable the successful implementation of these standards and rules, collaboration between market players is essential – OBE has a key role to play here.”

John Broxis, Managing Director, Open Banking Exchange, commented: “With our continued advisory and educational work in Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, we look forward to bringing our global knowledge to Saudi Arabia.”