The Bank recognised the existence of an ecosystem for Application Programming Interface (API) in the banking and payments system and is aware of various efforts in the industry to develop acceptable standards among stakeholders.

The Bank in collaboration with industry stakeholders developed Operational Guidelines for Open Banking in line with the provisions of the Regulatory Framework. In view of this, the Bank hereby issues the Operational Guidelines for Open Banking in Nigeria.

The Regulatory Framework for Open Banking in Nigeria established principles for data sharing across the banking and payments system to promote innovations and broaden the range of financial products and services available to bank customers. As a result, Open Banking recognises the ownership and control of data by customers of financial and non-financial services, and their right to grant authorisations to service providers for the purpose of accessing innovative financial products and services. This is anticipated to drive competition and improve accessibility to banking and payments services.

Participants in Open Banking shall adhere strictly to security standards when accessing and storing data, and shall be subject to minimum privacy standards, operational standards, risk management standards, and customer experience standards as prescribed by the Bank.