The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has announced that it issued the Open Finance Regulation, aiming to ensure the security and efficiency of Open Finance solutions in the region. To support innovation, increase competitiveness, meet consumers’ demands, and solidify the UAE’s status in the financial landscape, the CBUAE issues the Open Finance Regulation, which is part of the organisation’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme.

As detailed in the regulation, participation in the Open Finance framework is mandatory, with all financial institutions being subject to supervision and covering all the products and services they provide. Moreover, as licenced financial institutions (LFIs) are data holders and service owners, they are required to offer participants in the Open Finance Framework access to user data, as well as the capability to conduct transactions on accounts and products. In addition, all cases are subject to the consent of users, with them being able to receive solutions based on their needs. How does the CBUAE’s move support the development of Open Finance? Through the Open Finance Framework, LFIs are set to obtain access to and leverage consumers’ financial data to develop tailored experiences and personalised offerings according to their needs and demands.

On the other hand, consumers can improve their financial information by enabling simplified data sharing across all platforms. Moreover, the CBUAE’s regulation includes a Trust Framework, an Application Planning Interface (API) Hub, and Common Infrastructural Services, which can deliver Open Finance access for cross-sectoral sharing of data and the initiation of transactions in the name of users. Through the Open Finance Platform, financial service providers can provide a consumer consent model for sharing their financial data with trusted third parties as part of an integrated business system. Shortly before de current news, more specifically in June 2024, the CBUAE announced its plans to launch a domestic card scheme, Jaywan, via its subsidiary AI Etihad Payments.

At that time, the central bank’s subsidiary was set to introduce the card scheme in partnership with India’s NPCI International, with the move being part of the region’s nine Financial Infrastructure Transformation initiatives. .