Frequently Asked Questions
Top questions people ask about Open Banking Nigeria
General
What is Open Banking?
Open Banking is a system that enables secure sharing of financial information through standardized APIs among authorized third-party developers. It promotes competition, innovation, and improved customer experiences in the financial industry by allowing customers to give consent for their banking data to be accessed and used by third-party applications and services.
Who owns Open Banking?
Open Banking is a concept, hence it is not owned by any single entity. It’s a collaborative effort among various stakeholders in the financial industry working together to set standards, guidelines, and practices for open banking.
Who is Open Banking for?
Open Banking has been designed for consumers, businesses, banks, and other financial institutions. It offers consumers control over their data, helps businesses streamline processes, and fosters innovation, collaboration, and competition within the financial sector.
What is Open Banking Nigeria?
Open Banking Nigeria is an initiative that aims to get all participants in the Nigerian banking ecosystem – banks and fintechs – to use the same standardized APIs. It aims to improve financial services and innovation by securely sharing data through standardized APIs, promoting transparency and efficiency in the Nigerian financial ecosystem.
Who’s behind the Open Banking Nigeria project?
The project is a collaborative effort backed by stakeholders in the Nigerian financial industry with the drive to simplify and transform payments in Nigeria. This includes but is not limited to the government, regulatory bodies, banks, fintechs, and other industry players.
Is Open Banking licensed by the Central Bank of NIgeria?
Open Banking is a regulation and a set of guidelines from the Central Bank of Nigerian that stipulates that banks and CBN regulated entities must use the same API standard for interconnectivity. Furthermore, it provides operational guidelines regarding how customer data is shared, consents, security, etc.
How can my company join Open Banking?
Send an email to [email protected] and our program managers will be in touch with you.
How much does it cost?
The API standards and sandbox are free to use for everyone – developers, banks, and other financial institutions, etc. This accessibility fosters innovation and widespread adoption of open banking. Our API gateway is open source and also free of charge for banks and fintechs to download and install to use for themselves.
How does Open Banking Nigeria make money?
The Open Technology Foundation does not generate income. Instead, its activities are funded by contributions from members and interested stakeholders.
How do you ensure security?
- Open Banking APIs are implemented and deployed behind bank firewalls, in line with standard security practices.
- Access to individual account holder data employs OAuth authentication.
- All applications/services must be tested in the bank’s sandbox before deployment
Is Open Banking a commercial software?
No. Open Banking is a regulatory framework that utilizes a set of nonprofit open-source API standards within the financial industry, allowing third-party developers to build applications and services around financial institutions’ data and services.
What is the license framework?
The Open Banking APIs use open-source licenses, allowing developers to read and modify a copy of the code. They also use open-source technology by default, covering databases, frameworks, languages, message queues, and operating systems.
Can I connect with Open Banking?
The Open Banking APIs use open-source licenses, allowing developers to read and modify a copy of the code. They also use open-source technology by default, covering databases, frameworks, languages, message queues, and operating systems
- As a consumer; by using third-party applications that utilize open banking APIs for payments and financial management.
- Businesses can optimize financial processes, access customers’ financial data, and create new services using open banking APIs.
- Developers build applications and services that leverage open banking APIs in providing customer-centric solutions.
- Financial institutions; by implementing open banking APIs to offer enhanced services, and improve customer experiences.
Can I join Open Banking Nigeria as an individual?
Open Banking initiatives primarily involve institutions, regulators, and developers. Direct participation as an individual is limited compared to organizations.
However, individuals can benefit by using applications built on open banking APIs for improved financial management and services.