NBB forges ahead with open banking in Bahrain
National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) claims to be the first bank in the Middle East to launch an open banking offering, reports Martin Whybrow.
The team at NBB
It is partnering with Bahrain-based fintech, Tarabut Gateway, the country’s first licensed open banking systems provider.
As of this week, NBB customers are able to access new digital services and aggregate all their accounts from any bank in Bahrain. This will enable them to create a consolidated view of their finances from within NBB’s online and mobile banking apps.
The bank says the move reflects is commitment to transform and diversify its business through investment in digital infrastructure and services.
Yaser Alsharifi, chief strategy officer, comments: “Allowing our customers to get a full view of their finances in one place is an important step in making banking more accessible and convenient… and an achievement towards our digital offering.”
The introduction of open banking to Bahrain’s banking sector was laid down in November 2018 when the Central Bank of Bahrain introduced regulations that mandated the adoption of open banking by all banks in the Kingdom by 30 June 2019.
Abdulla Almoayed, CEO at Tarabut Gateway, emphasises the speed of implementation at NBB. “Banks in other markets, like the UK, have taken years to reach this point. NBB has achieved it in less than six months.”
