2 weeks ago
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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified that unfastened banking has not gone unrecorded yet, contempt earlier expectations of an August 2025 rollout.
The regulator, however, assured that enactment is progressing connected the governance operation and API standardisation required for a harmless and functional system.
“Open banking hasn’t gone unrecorded yet,” said Chai Gang, Deputy Director astatine the CBN’s Payments Systems Policy Department during a sheet league astatine Moonshot by TechCabal
“We’ve enactment unneurotic a governance operation and are gathering a standardised API template. It volition hap soon.”
The CBN issued operational guidelines for unfastened banking successful March 2023, but method and regulatory groundwork is inactive being finalised earlier the afloat rollout.
The slope did not supply a caller motorboat date.
“There are the guidelines for unfastened banking successful Nigeria and the model for unfastened banking successful Nigeria,” Gang explained. “We indispensable beryllium cautious who has entree to customers’ idiosyncratic data.”
Open banking allows licensed fiscal institutions and third-party providers to stock customer-approved information done APIs. Once live, it is expected to unlock caller integer fiscal products and grow entree to recognition crossed aggregate sectors.
“One of the strongest foundations for unfastened banking is lawsuit consent,” Gang added. “We are gathering an automated process to guarantee customers cognize what information is used, for however long, and tin revoke support anytime.”
Gang explained that erstwhile Nigeria’s unfastened banking ecosystem yet launches, determination volition beryllium wide accountability for information breaches. “Liability lies with whoever loses the data,” helium said. “Data astatine remainder oregon successful formation indispensable beryllium protected, and whoever fails to bash truthful bears responsibility.”
According to him, licensed operators volition beryllium held accountable for breaches involving lawsuit data, portion unlicensed entities volition lone entree anonymised information. Both categories volition inactive beryllium required to support strict safeguards implicit immoderate information they handle.
He added that decision-making successful the ecosystem indispensable beryllium just and inclusive. “If you permission it to the banks, it volition beryllium precise difficult,” helium said. “It has to beryllium connected an adjacent footing for each players.”
Gang besides confirmed that the CBN is studying however virtual assets, including stablecoins, acceptable into Nigeria’s fiscal framework. “The CBN is looking astatine these innovations [virtual assets],” helium said. “We are not unaware that virtual assets, particularly stablecoins, are being utilized successful the country.”
However, helium cautioned that astir stablecoins are dollar-denominated and could impact monetary argumentation if utilized wide for retail transactions.
“We are moving with different agencies, similar the SEC [Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission] to recognize the impact, but these are conversations that request to happen,” helium said.
The station Nigeria’s unfastened banking volition hap soon – CBN appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.
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