The Dubai FinTech Summit 2025‘s main theme this year was fintech for all, sparking a multitude of talking points on how can fintech be made more accessible. In a conversation with Richie Santosdiaz, executive economic development advisor (emerging markets), The Fintech Times, Martin Blechta, partner, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) revealed open banking was the way to do this.
Historically, banks have often been associated with physical branches and customers with an existing credit score. However, this system does not cater for those that don’t have access to a banking branch or those who are unable to get a credit score. Blechta explains: “Typically, in developing countries financial ecosystems are not as evolved as they are in other places in the world, but with open banking, we can help.
“We can offer financial services in an accessible and affordable way which can range from anything from payments to insurance.”
For Blechta, regulations are extremely important, especially in regard to enabling innovation. “Banking is the second most regulated industry for all the right reasons. Afterall, it is there so that financial services can be delivered to clients efficiently while ensuring data is protected.”
From an open banking standpoint, he highlights that the data which was previously withheld by traditional banks has now been made accessible to fintechs and allowed newcomers to try and innovate in the space.
“Regulators are helping innovation in the banking sector. Even though we’re in a digital era, they’re the key enables behind traditional solutions too.”
According to findings from the Arab Monetary Fund, out of the 18 central banks in the MENA region, eight of them have said that open banking is one of the most important elements that will allow them to improve financial inclusion. Elaborating on these findings, Blechta said: “Regulators understand these findings and they’re creating sandboxes and safe spaces to innovate as a result, and this is very exciting.”
Open banking partnerships are driving competition
The MENA region has been a breeding ground for successful fintech partnerships and collaborations which has in turn enabled it to flourish. However, this is only the beginning. As more technologies are shared, the more competition there will be in the market.
With this in mind, Blechta explored how open banking is driving competition: “When the initial open banking regulations started coming out, many banks thought they were going to face a crisis and thought it could destroy their banking business. However, they quickly realised that this was not the case and that it in fact created competition, and enabled many new partnerships.
“As a bank, you want to do stuff fast but with regulatory burdens, this can be challenging. Even more so when you try to do things in-house. What they’ve now realised is that it is actually easier and more cost-effective to go to market and find partners.”
Catalysing financial transactions
When looking at the impact open banking can have on financial transactions in MENA, it is important to recognise the type of organisations that are entering into the region. Bletcha explains that while some may look to New York, Singapore and Hong Kong, there are a lot of exciting success stories coming out of the up-and-coming MENA region.
“Many economies across the GCC are looking to establish themselves at the forefront of innovation due to their national ambitions. And for open banking this works very well as these countries are looking for innovative ways to approach finance, for example, exploring digital assets and open banking.
“To then drive this vision and mission, you need central bank data. This is where regulators come back into play and in the region, they look very favourably on supporting the tech.
“Lastly, we must recognise the clientele in the region. When it comes to implementing technology, we’re now moving away from traditional branches to digital banking which uses mobile phones. The GCC economies have large young populations that are already extremely digitally savvy and these consumers are used to using mobile phones and online services. In fact, they don’t want to bank in a traditional way anymore.
“They are ready to uptake these innovations that are being launched through open banking and that is what makes the MENA region so exciting.”
