Global standards

What lessons can the UK learn from other markets to build interoperable global open banking standards?

Mirna Sleiman

CEO and founder, Fintech Galaxy

The UK can learn from global markets, particularly the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as follows:

1. Foster collaboration: Bahrain’s FinHub973 demonstrates the value of partnerships among banks, fintechs, and regulators, integrating over 100 fintechs and accelerating innovation.

2. Standardise APIs: unified APIs simplify integration and ensure global interoperability. Countries like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are pioneering unified API frameworks that prioritise seamless cross-border compatibility and regional scalability.

3. Adopt flexible regulations: the FCA sandbox has been a global benchmark, but Bahrain’s regulatory sandbox, Saudi Arabia’s proactive open banking frameworks, and the UAE’s digital financial initiatives provide models of how adaptive approaches can foster innovation while maintaining compliance. These frameworks prioritise collaboration between regulators, financial institutions, and fintechs.

4. Ensure data security: Platforms in MENA, like Fintech Galaxy, achieve certifications such as ISO/IEC 27001:2022, prioritising data privacy and consumer trust.

5. Drive financial inclusion: In Saudi Arabia, studies highlight that nearly 30% of adults remained unbanked, but initiatives like the Saudi Central Bank’s open banking framework aim to close this gap by enabling innovative financial products. Bahrain has leveraged its regulatory sandbox to promote digital wallets and financial inclusion tools, targeting its unbanked population, primarily low-income workers. The UAE’s progressive fintech ecosystem is driving inclusion through digital payment platforms and micro-lending solutions for SMEs and underserved communities.

Huw Davies

CEO and Co-Founder, Ozone API

The UK is a global financial leader, with London ranking second in the Global Financial Centres Index. This prominence is no accident - open banking has played a key role in transforming financial services and data sharing. However, progress has recently slowed as the market seeks to move beyond the initial regulatory push. To maintain its leadership, the UK can draw lessons from global examples.

First, a compelling vision is essential. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 exemplifies this, framing open banking as a pillar of societal and economic transformation with targets for investment, innovation, and financial inclusion.

Similarly, other nations leverage open finance to foster fairer societies and accelerate GDP growth. The UK’s open banking journey began as a competition measure, but recent government focus on payments and open banking is a timely opportunity to anchor transformation in a broader vision of open finance and smart data.

Second, balanced commercial incentives are critical. Financial services contribute 12% to the UK’s GDP, making clear economic frameworks vital. The UAE’s Central Bank demonstrates this by fostering a market for premium APIs and embedded finance at scale. The UK must now combine its strong standards with a clear vision and commercially viable frameworks to sustain its leadership.

Fiona Hamilton

Standards Director, OBL

When first released, the UK’s Open Banking Standard set a global benchmark that has inspired many similar standards globally. The Standard was designed to be both interoperable and global, building on internationally recognised Standards such as FAPI (to which OBIE was a founding contributor) and ISO 20022 which we remain committed to.

Naturally other standards bodies and open banking ecosystems have emerged and many have used our ‘open to all’ Standard as a foundation to innovate to their requirements. The Standard was designed to be extensible to enable enhancements and evolution at speed. Being based on the ISO 20022 data dictionary also streamlines cross-scheme and border interoperability. As the data sharing economy expands across UK industries and in cross-border finance, interoperability will become increasingly important. This is essential to allow TPPs to scale propositions and maximise their investment and customer base. We are confident our Standard and data models are flexible and allow for fast innovation, but we will adjust and align where necessary. We will continue to work with policymakers to support the growth of our ecosystem, and collaborate with partners and standards bodies across the globe and, where relevant, learn from them to maintain our role as a global pioneer in open banking, open finance and beyond.