US-based NIST releases draft on Open Banking cybersecurity

Open Banking (OB) refers to a new financial ecosystem that provides more choices to individuals and small and mid-size businesses concerning the movement of their money, as well as information between financial institutions. Open Banking is already being used in several countries around the world, however, it is yet to be adopted in the United States. Anytime a system becomes more transparent, a potential for abuse occurs, and for Open Banking, that would be at the API level.

This report contains a definition and description of Open Banking, its activities, enablers, and cybersecurity, and privacy challenges. This report is not intended to be a promotion of OB within the US but rather a factual description of the technology and how various countries have implemented it. Any proposal of a specific API that would be compatible across heterogeneous systems was purposely avoided in this report, the institution stated.