• The Nigerian Central Bank has issued operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria.
• These guidelines are expected to enhance financial services efficiency and access.
• The CBN will provide and maintain an open banking registry for details of registered participants.
Nigerian Central Bank Unveils Open Banking Guidelines
The Nigerian central bank recently said it had issued operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria which are expected to enhance efficiency and access to financial services. According to the central bank, some of the guidelines‘ objectives include ensuring „consistency and security across the open banking system.“
Customer Permissioned Data Sharing
The Central Bank of Nigeria said on March 7 that it had issued what it called the operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria. According to the central bank, the guidelines are expected to foster the „sharing of customer-permissioned data between banks and third-party firms to enable the building of customer-focused products and services.“ The guidelines are expected to enhance efficiency and access to financial services.
Open Banking Registry
To kick things off, the CBN said it will provide and maintain an open banking registry (OBR) which acts as the industry’s storehouse. „The OBR shall be a public repository for details of registered participants. Each participant shall be identified by its CAC [Corporate Affairs Commission] business registration number, which shall be the unique key across the OBR system. The OBR shall maintain an API interface, defined within these guidelines, which shall serve as the primary means by which API providers manage the registration of their API consumers,“ revealed CBN .
Compliance Requirements
Meanwhile, in its circular,the CBN said all stakeholders are required to „ensure strict compliance“ with the guidelines as well as other regulations. For its part,the central bank said it will continue monitor developments and may issue guidance as may be appropriate..
Conclusion
In conclusion, these new operational guidelines have been developed by Nigerian Central Bank in order to promote competition ,enhance access to financial institutions and ensure consistency & security across Open Banking System .All stakeholders must strictly comply with these regulations otherwise they’ll face actions from authorities .