This post was originally published on The FinTech Times
Nihal Abughattas, General Manager for Middle East and Africa at Ozone API, joined Mark Walker to discuss the rapid evolution of data sharing frameworks across the region. While Europe and the UK established the initial blueprint for open banking, Abughattas argued that the Middle East is currently leapfrogging these established markets by adopting comprehensive open finance standards from the outset.
As the co-chair for the Open Finance Working Group at the MENA Fintech Association, Abughattas noted that the regional approach differs fundamentally from Western models by prioritising inclusion over mere competition. This strategy ensures that banks have “skin in the game,” moving away from historical pushbacks toward a collaborative ecosystem where financial institutions and third-party providers (TPPs) co-create value propositions.
“The beauty of open finance is we’re not starting from the ground up,” Abughattas explained. She highlighted that while the “boring” work of building infrastructure and quality APIs takes time, it is the necessary foundation for solving local pain points. One prominent example is the modernisation of rent payments in the GCC. By utilising account-to-account payments and variable recurring payment APIs, the region can finally transition away from its
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