Open banking will arrive first in Nigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the implementation of Open Banking and Notadeepdive reports that the go-live date is set for August 2025. “Here's the rough idea,” writes Almunia Olowogboyega at Notadeepdive.

“Banks have decades worth of customer data. They haven’t shared this data with others or used it creatively enough. Open Banking allows customers to consent to letting other financial institutions access their banking data to build new services.”

With Open Banking, customers can give permission for financial players including fintechs to access their transaction histories and balances and even initiate services on their behalf. Subcommittees will be chaired by ecosystem players rather than Central Bank staff.

“This move would not have been possible without the long-term advocacy of the Open Banking Initiative, anon-profit founded by Open Technology Nigeria and spearheaded by Adedeji Olowe,” writes Notadeepdive.com.

“Members include heavyweights like FCMB, FidelityBank, KPMG, Paystack, EY, OnePipe, Lendsqr, PWC, and Flutterwave. After almost eight years of pushing, Open Banking in Nigeria is finally a reality.”