KSA Open Banking Framework

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Banking

Open Banking

• Account information
• Service Requests

The core principles of the Saudi Arabian Open Banking Framework include customer consent, security, standardization, competition, innovation, and regulatory supervision. Its focus is on enabling secure data sharing, ensuring consumer protection, enforcing standardized API compliance, and ultimately supporting a broad range of consumer and business use cases.

Wallets or Prepaid | Credit Cards | Current Accounts

JSON | YAML | RESTful

Regulated

The API specifications are provided under an open-source license to any developer who has registered and been approved by SAMA. However, only SAMA-authorized companies are permitted to use Open Banking APIs to access customer financial data on their behalf.

Mandated

The Open Banking Framework is a regulatory structure that incorporates a complete set of legislative requirements, regulatory guidelines, and technical standards. Its key components include:

• Market Participants: Clear definitions of the roles of all participants, along with a registry of banks and fintechs operating within the KSA Open Banking ecosystem.
• Use Cases: An overview of the evaluation and prioritization framework for Open Banking, detailing the use cases to be supported with each new release.
• Business Rules: Specific directives outlining the requirements that banks and fintechs must meet to deliver Open Banking services, with rules linked to particular use cases clearly defined.
• KSA Standards: These cover Customer Experience Guidelines, API Specifications, Implementation Requirements, and Operational Guidelines.
• Certification Framework: A comprehensive certification process supported by templates and detailed steps for both banks and fintechs.
• Complaint Management Process: A mechanism that allows market participants to file complaints against others in cases of technical, onboarding, or operational issues that could hinder the successful delivery of Open Banking services.

Registry | Certificates

FAPI1 | OAuth | OIDC | CIBA

Browser Redirect | Decoupled |App to App Redirect

Customer Experience Guidelines | Operational Guidelines | API Specifications

Accounts | Beneficiaries | Balances | Parties or Contacts | Direct Debits | Transactions | Standing Orders

The following resources are available to all registered developers:

• Open Banking Framework (including Use Cases, Business Rules and Standards)
• Open Banking Lab (including Model Bank and Conformance Tools)

Open Banking in Saudi Arabia is still in its early stages. In December 2020, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) introduced the Open Banking Policy to encourage greater innovation and competition in the financial sector. The Open Banking Framework was rolled out gradually, supported by rules and guidelines designed to enable secure data sharing and improve customer choice and experience.

In May 2022, the Open Banking Lab was launched, initially aligned with the UK Open Banking Standard, to allow banks and fintechs to begin development and testing. The official launch of the Open Banking Framework took place in November 2022.

In May 2024, SAMA introduced the “View My Bank Accounts” feature as a measure to help prevent fraud. By September 2024, SAMA released a major update to the Framework focusing on Payment Initiation Services (PIS). Other developments in 2024 included the introduction of standardized PIS protocols to support smooth transactions, approval for several fintechs to deliver open banking services through the SAMA Regulatory Sandbox, and the licensing of “Tamawal” to provide financial aggregation services.

Functional | Customer Experience | Security Profile | Operational

The Open Banking Lab supports a comprehensive certification framework required for all banks and fintechs offering open banking services.
The certification covers:

• Security Certification (aligned with the OpenID FAPI profile)
• Functional Certification
• Customer Experience Certification
• Operational Certification

Additionally, SAMA provides a formal complaints mechanism to facilitate quick resolution of issues between participants before any escalation.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is responsible for governing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Open Banking Framework. It establishes the regulatory requirements, guidelines, and standards for open banking, oversees adherence to these rules, and ensures robust security, privacy, and customer data protection across the framework.

Open Banking Policy

Payment Services Provider Regulations