5 Trends Driving Open Banking in the Middle East 2021

5 Trends Driving Open Banking in the Middle East 2021

Open banking in the Middle East has become one of the latest buzzwords to come out of the region’s accelerated fintech agenda.

Many countries in the region already had a sturdy traditional banking ecosystem. Now, with a growing incentive to make banking more inclusive and leverage emerging tech opportunities in this space, open banking is gaining increased attention in the Middle East.

Open banking in the Middle East is still a niche fintech segment, but Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are driving adoption in this space. And while growing digitisation, cashless economies and public-private collaborations have all had a role to play in boosting innovation, the growing interest in open banking in the Middle East can be pinned down to 5 key trends.

With the pace picking for open banking in the Middle East, here are the top 5 trends driving this sector’s growth.

1. Fintechs boost open banking in the Middle East

Fintechs such as Tarabut Gateway (Bahrain), Lean (Saudi Arabia) and Dapi (Dubai) are early entrants within open banking in the Middle East. These startups have developed APIs that create an interfacing bridge between banks and fintech companies.