The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the operation of Open Banking in Nigeria.
Open Banking in Nigeria refers to data sharing across the banking and payment systems in the country.
According to the guideline establishing Open Banking, the idea behind the initiative “is to promote innovations and broaden the range of financial products and services available to bank customers”.
The CBN in its guideline said “open banking recognises the ownership and control of data by customers of financial and non-financial services”.
It also recognises the right of the customer “to grant authorisations to service providers for the purpose of accessing innovative financial products and services”.
Open Banking can be used to access customers’ information in relation to Agency Banking, Financial Inclusion, Know Your Customer (KYC), credit scoring/rating etc.
The CBN said the guidelines are anticipated to drive competition and improve accessibility to financial and payments services.
Specifically, the CBN has warned participants in Open Banking to “adhere strictly to security standards when accessing and storing data, and to observe minimum privacy, operational, customer experience and risk management standards as prescribed by the Bank