The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) approved a regulatory framework for open banking at a meeting of its Board of Governors on 29 December 2024, completing a process that began with the publication of a draft framework for public consultation in July 2024.
The framework was among several measures approved at the board's fourth meeting of 2024. The board also approved regulations for the Banking Deposits Protection Law and the 2025 budgets of the central bank, the Oman Credit and Financial Information Centre (Mala'a) and the Banking Deposits Protection Scheme.
The CBO said open banking would play a significant role in advancing the development of innovative financial products, in line with its roadmap for modern financial technology. The framework relies on application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable secure data sharing between banks, fintech companies and other licensed institutions, giving consumers greater control over their financial data and access to more personalised banking services.
FROM DRAFT TO FINAL RULES
The central bank unveiled the draft framework in July 2024 and invited feedback from stakeholders before updating and approving it. The draft set out licensing criteria, processes and ongoing obligations for open banking service providers, including rules on how they offer and promote their services.
An accompanying technology framework covered data security measures, standardised APIs, consent management mechanisms and authentication protocols, intended to protect customer data and ensure that it is accessed only with the customer's explicit permission.
When it launched the consultation, the CBO said the initiative was designed to allow conventional banks to collaborate with third-party payment and financial service providers, and to promote transparency, customer control and competition in the financial sector, while supporting faster and more secure payments for customers.
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