Tata Consultancy Services Explores the Future of Open Banking

Tata Consultancy Services recently participated at the 10th Annual Middle East Banking Innovation Summit at Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre on March 01, 2021. The Middle East Banking Innovation Summit was the first banking and fintech industry event of the year in Dubai and explored the latest advancements in fintech and banking technology. Tata Consultancy Services was joined by partners, Abu Dhabi Global Markets, Commercial Bank of Dubai and Gulf International Bank, Bahrain during the event.

Tata Consultancy Services participated at the summit this year to discuss developments of Open Banking platform and share their insights on the new collaborative business models. Sumanta Roy, VP & Head of Middle East, Africa, Mediterranean, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) moderated a panel discussion around Open Banking and the innovations in the current banking ecosystem. The panel discussion saw participation of the key banking industry leaders such as Stefan Kimmel, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), Vikas Sethi, Group Chief Digital Officer, Gulf International Bank, Bahrain (GIB) & Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Associate Director, Market Development, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

While talking about the development of any country’s financial ecosystem for open banking to be applicable and useful in any country, Sumanta commented, “Conceptually, the combination of the strength of fintech market of a country and the framework which helps in the integration and collaboration are the keys for the application of open banking in any country”.

Tata Consultancy Services’ Open Banking API Framework has been built to help banks, fintech and gateways to accelerate their digital transformation journey by securely abstracting and carefully sharing customer data for internal and external consumption. The framework assists these industries to comply with government regulation and promotes collaboration in interest of the overall customer. 

Tata Consultancy Services discussed the state of the Open Banking platform in the Middle East. Bahrain is leading the way for Open Banking in the Middle East region, with the country being the first to draft regulations around the platform in November 2018. Saudi Arabia closely follows Bahrain, in terms of acceptance towards the platform and is currently aiming to reach overall market implementation by the end of 2021. Furthermore, 88% of UAE banks said they were looking to open their APIs (Application Programming Interface) to enable Open Banking within the next year, according to a 2020 survey by fintech firm Finastra.

The development of new collaborative business models can help the industry grow and transform in the coming years and Open Banking is a step towards massive growth and transformation. Central Banks in the GCC region are coming up with open banking regulations to foster competition and innovation.