UAE – Mubasher: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has launched the first Open Finance Lab in the region on Tuesday, 28 June this year, according to a press release.
The initiative is a six-month programme in which four banks and a fintech company will be participating, namely the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Mashreq Bank, the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK), and Zand.
Launching Open Finance Lab followed an agreement between the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and DIFC, which was announced last October, to endorse the UAE financial technology sector.
Open Finance offers a platform for financial services providers, along with the consent of consumers, to provide data using application programming interfaces (APIs) for pooling and sharing data under a collaborative ecosystem. The data could include mortgages, savings, insurance, or consumer credit.
DIFC Innovation Hub, meanwhile, is scheduled to host an Open Finance Week in September 2022.
CEO of DIFC, Arif Amiri, said: “The evolution of data-driven business models that make finance more inclusive, accessible, and competitive can generate significant new opportunities and open the door for a wave of financial innovation in our region and across the globe.”
The platform is powered by Tarabut Gateway and has been fully authorised by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) for Open Finance activities.
CEO of Tarabut Gateway, Abdulla Almoayed, said: “We are honoured to have been selected by DIFC as the platform partner for the region’s first Open Finance Lab. The support we have received from UAE financial regulators is testament to the UAE’s drive towards building the future of finance and establishing its presence as a leading global FinTech Hub.”
More than 1,000 fintech developers, investment firms, banks, policymakers, and service providers have been expected to attend DIFC FinTech Week, during which the launch of the programme was announced.
