Innovation and disruption have become buzz words in today’s banking world. Both innovators and regulators are increasingly focused on devising ways to provide financial services in a manner that ensures efficiency while achieving inclusion. As a result, what we have seen emerge in recent times are ancillary or support services aimed either at complementing traditional banking services or enabling traditional banks to better deliver on their service obligations to customers. This has, in turn, necessitated regulatory intervention to adequately harness the benefits of such services and balance the same with the need for ongoing customer protection.

On Tuesday 7 March 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (the “CBN”), in furtherance of its mandate to ensure the stability of the financial system and deepening the financial system, announced the issuance of the Operational Guidelines for Open Banking in Nigeria (the “Guidelines”). The adoption of open banking in Nigeria is expected to foster the sharing of customer-authorized data between banks and third-party firms to enable the building of customer-focused products and services and ultimately enhance efficiency, competition, and easy access to financial services in Nigeria.

To this end, the Financial Services Practice of Dentons ACAS-Law requests your kind participation in its virtual roundtable to discuss the in-roads open banking is making and the benefits it brings. The roundtable aims to gather relevant stakeholders in the financial services sector to discuss how industry players are navigating the concept of Open Banking in Nigeria, the potential impact of the Guidelines on the sector, and next steps following the release of the Guidelines.