DATA SECURITY OPEN BANKING
Fueling the future of banking Mohamed Abdel Razek, CIO of Standard Chartered AME & Islamic Banking details the benefits of Open Banking for both banks and customers, with API based architecture improving integration with third parties, making it easier to widen a banks’ portfolio of product options Mohamed Abdel Razek, CIO, Standard Chartered AME & Islamic Banking
H
ow do you define Open Banking?
Open Banking refers to the practice of banks sharing customer data securely (only with written consent) with third-party financial services providers and non-bank financial institutions, such as Fintechs, retail providers and other players. Through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs), the data shared includes account details, transactions, and more, and is only accessible to the customer unless otherwise agreed. This new technology is disrupting the fabric of the financial landscape as it is changing the way that data is used, stored and shared. Ultimately, it is creating a comprehensive banking environment
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that is likely to lead to an uncoupling of products from distribution. Resulting in a situation similar to a ‘marketplace’, customers will be able to use a single banking interface to access products and services from a multitude of players, including incumbent banks, challengers and Fintechs. This interface would both give customers a holistic overview and use cognitive analytics to help them manage and optimise their finances. A g re a t exa m p l e i s S ta n d a rd Chartered’s own open banking offering, aXess, a platform that drives more connectivity between developers, corporates and FinTechs. We curated aXess to service an open community and allow for the experimentation of cuttingedge technologies that can accelerate
Banking and Finance news in the MEA market
ideas. The interface allows for the co-creation of ideas through enabling new business models, sharing best practices, capabilities and tools. Through this, we aim to encourage developers to refine and innovate the best solutions for our clients. APIs on our platform include services targeted at corporate banking and retail banking, such as FX, retail products and custody services.
Do you foresee a noticeable upside for industry revenues because of Open Banking’s adoption or is this just a change in practices and procedures that will make little difference to profitability? Certainly, open banking has an evident impact on financial growth. A technology
