Article Series: OPEN BANKING TO OPEN FINANCE: LESSONS LEARNED AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE UAE

The ADGM Academy Research Centre invited Professor Markos Zachariadis from the Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester, who holds the Chair in Financial Technology and Information Systems and Barry West, Senior Manager, Applied Innovation & Research at the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to discuss what lessons can be applied from Open Banking to the future of Open Finance in the UAE financial sector.

The key question faced by the industry is: What can be done to apply acquired learnings around open banking and PSD2 in a manner to leapfrog its adoption in the UAE? There are many lessons the UAE can leverage to accelerate an open banking infrastructure, especially in in terms of standards and interoperability. In terms of competition, innovation and sustainable business models, a big lesson is that there must be an economic incentive for the industry to compete, integrate their solutions and give rise to innovation.