The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the launch of the Open Banking Lab according to the Open Banking Framework issued by SAMA in November 2022.
The Open Banking Lab aims to enable innovation and accelerate the development of open banking services in the Kingdom as it serves as one of the most important technical enablers of the open banking ecosystem in the Kingdom. The lab will provide banks and fintechs with a technical testing environment to enable them to develop, test, and certify their open banking services to ensure compatibility with the Open Banking Framework.
Open banking services is a new concept in the financial industry that aims to enable the consumers of financial institutions to securely share their financial data with a third-party provider, which in turn provides new and innovative financial services and products for consumers
Open banking services will create a positive impact in the industry by strengthening the partnership between banks and fintechs and improving the financial infrastructure to guarantee better use of consumers’ financial data.
The implementation of open banking services is one of the initiatives of the Fintech Strategy, one of the pillars of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) under Saudi Vision 2030. The Fintech Strategy was approved by the Council of Ministers in May 2022 and aims to make the Kingdom a global Fintech hub where technology-based innovation in financial services is the foundation as a way to enhance the economic empowerment of individuals and society
It is worth mentioning that the Saudi Central Bank released the Open Banking Framework in November 2022, which includes a comprehensive set of legislation, regulatory guidelines, and technical standards based on international best practices to enable banks and fintechs to provide open banking services in the Kingdom. The first version of the open banking services focused on the Account Information Service (AIS), and the second version will focus on the Payment Initiation Service (PIS).
Saudi Central Bank is tracking the development of banks and fintechs to ensure their readiness to launch open banking services within the first quarter of 2023.
For more information, visit the Open Banking Program website atopenbanking. sa or contact the program team at ob@sama.gov.sa
Agencies Issue Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking Organizations
Federal bank regulatory agencies including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a statement highlighting key risks for banking organizations associated with crypto-assets and the cryptoasset sector and describing the agencies’ approaches to supervision in this area, on January 3, 2023.
In particular, the statement describes several key risks associated with crypto-assets and the crypto-asset sector, as demonstrated by the significant volatility and vulnerabilities over the past year. Given these risks, the agencies continue to take a careful approach related to current and proposed crypto-asset-related activities and exposures at banking organizations. The agencies continue to assess whether or how current and proposed crypto-asset-related activities by banking organizations can be conducted in a manner that is safe and sound, legally permissible, and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including those designed to protect consumers.
The agencies will continue to closely monitor crypto-asset-related exposures of banking organizations, and, as warranted, will issue additional statements related to engagement by banking organizations in crypto-asset-related activities.
Source: IBP