Nigeria’s central bank recently said it had issued operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria that are expected to improve efficiency and access to financial services. According to the central bank, some of the goals of the guidelines include ensuring “consistency and security across the open banking system.”
Data Sharing Authorized by Customer
The Central Bank of Nigeria said on March 7 that it had issued what it called the operating guidelines for open banking in Nigeria. According to the central bank, the guidelines are expected to encourage the “sharing of data authorized by customers between banks and third-party companies to enable the creation of customer-centric products and services.” The guidelines are expected to improve efficiency and access to financial services.
in a circular sent to financial institutions and payment service providers, the CBN said it was aware of the “existence of an ecosystem for application programming interface (API) in the financial and payment system.” He added that he also knew of plans to “develop standards acceptable to stakeholders.”
According to CBN, some of the goals of the guidelines include ensuring “consistency and security across the open banking system.” The central bank said it also hopes the guidelines, which were developed in collaboration with industry stakeholders, will promote competition and improve access to financial institutions.
Open Bank Registry
To start, the CBN said it will provide and maintain an open banking registry (OBR) that acts as a warehouse for the industry.
“The OBR will be a public repository of details of registered participants. Each participant will be identified by their CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission) commercial registration number, which will be the unique key throughout the OBR system. The OBR will maintain an API interface, defined within these guidelines, which will serve as the primary means by which API providers will manage the registration of their API consumers,” CBN revealed.
Meanwhile, in its circular, the CBN said that all interested parties must “ensure strict compliance” with the guidelines and other regulations. For its part, the central bank said it will continue to monitor developments and may “issue guidance as appropriate.”
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