The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved operational guidelines on open banking this week, becoming the first country in the African region to adopt open banking regulations.
This release is the culmination of an open banking journey which began in June 2017. CBN had previously released regulatory framework for open banking in early 2021.
Early backers of open banking in Nigeria include Sterling Bank, KPMG, PwC, EY, Paystack, Teamapt, Wallet Africa, and OnePipe. The coalition has now expanded to include the likes of Mono, Switch, Lendsqr, Palmpay, Carbon, and Trium.
Musa Jimoh, the director of the CBN’s Payments System Management Department said: “The adoption of Open Banking in Nigeria will foster the sharing of customer-permissioned data between banks and third-party firms to enable the building of customer-focused products and services.”
The PSD2-style legislation is expected to enhance access to local financial services and deepen financial inclusion for millions of people, including the many unbanked people in Nigeria. Within the published guidelines CBN stated that open banking is “aimed at enhancing efficiency, competition and access to financial services in Nigeria.”