More jurisdictions around the world are making headway in their open banking plans, and as this week’s roundup reveals, markets’ initiatives are maturing. While Saudi Arabia is gearing up to debut its open banking framework, other markets – including Taiwan, Australia and the U.K. – are looking beyond the rollout phase toward commercialization and adoption.
VibePay Launches Open Banking Dashboard
U.K.-based FinTech VibePay recently debuted its open banking-powered dashboard designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to streamline payment workflows in a consolidated portal. In an announcement sent to PYMNTS, VibePay noted that its business dashboard offering supports real-time account-to-account payments between SMBs and their customers, while also unlocking the data behind those transactions so businesses can more efficiently manage business finances. In addition to integrate account-to-account payments, the portal offers order management, invoice generation and refund services with integration into third-party eCommerce platforms. In a statement, VibePay CEO Luke Massie said the company “has been driving the adoption of open banking amongst consumers with its peer-to-peer app, and is now available to SMEs. It is the best of open banking in action.”
Mambu Raises $135M for Banking-as-a-Service
As more financial institutions embrace the opportunity to collaborate with third-party FinTechs, they’re also finding value in working with technology companies that can power their own back-office operations. One of them is Mambu, which recently announced a $135 million funding round that values the company at more than $2 billion. Mambu, based in Germany, offers a suite of APIs to enable FIs to integrate technology that can power a range of products, including lending and deposits. TCV led the round, TechCrunch said, while Tiger Global, Arena Holdings and previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Runa Capital and Acton Capital Partners also participated.
Australia’s P&N Bank Eyes Open Banking Commercialization
The CEO of Australia’s Police & Nurses (P&N) Bank is setting his sights not only on the implementation of open banking in the country, but also the commercialization of the framework for financial institutions. Reports in Mortgage Business said CEO Andrew Hadley is focusing on commercialization efforts as Australia’s open banking landscape matures beyond its initial priority of making data available to third-party platforms. He described the bank’s focus on developing “compelling” value propositions for customers to use open banking as “the battleground of the future” now that the framework is established. “I think the battleground of the future is how to actually commercialize that and turn it into a meaningful value proposition for your customers, and attract new customers as well,” Hadley said.
Taiwan Nears Open Banking Phase Two
Taiwan is moving on to phase two of its open banking roadmap, reports in Regulation Asia have said. Phase one, which was rolled out in September of 2019, focused on opening up public information to financial institutions. Phase two will focus on unlocking consumer information, including account and transaction information, and allowing third-party solution providers to integrate that data into their own offerings. Reports said Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has granted seven banks approval to participate in phase two, including South China Commercial Bank and CTBC Bank. Customers of these FIs will be able to request open banking services once they provide consent to their banks to integrate their account data to third parties. The third phase of Taiwan’s open banking rollout will involve facilitating banking transactions by providing third parties with the data they need to conduct those transactions.
Saudi Arabia Sets Open Banking Timeline
Saudi Arabia is set to implement open banking policy next year, according to MENABytes reports. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) this week issued a notice laying out its open banking plans for the financial services industry as part of its Financial Sector Development Program. The central bank highlighted trust for customers and other participants in the financial services market as a key benefit of open banking adoption, with banks and FinTechs playing a key role in financial inclusion. Over the next year, SAMA will focus on further development of its open banking ecosystem, as well as developing implementation plans, reports said.
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