In this article
What is open banking?
Open banking lets a customer securely share their banking data — or authorize a payment from their account — with licensed providers through standardized APIs, instead of that data staying locked inside a single bank. In short: the customer owns their data and decides who to share it with and why.
In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) leads this through its Open Banking Framework, which began with Account Information Services (AIS) and then Payment Initiation Services (PIS). The result is a more competitive, innovative financial ecosystem that opens opportunities for business owners that weren't available before.
Why should a business owner care?
- Cheaper, faster payments: account-to-account payments via payment initiation can cut card fees and speed up when funds reach you.
- Reliable financial verification: with the customer's consent, you can verify their financial data instantly — useful for financing, installments, or income verification instead of paper documents.
- Smoother checkout: embed bank payment directly inside your store or app, with fewer steps and less cart abandonment.
- Deeper customer understanding: a consented financial view helps you offer products and services that fit them better.
Practical examples by activity
- E-commerce: a "pay from your bank account" option at checkout, alongside Mada, Apple Pay, and STC Pay.
- Financing and installments: assess creditworthiness quickly from consented account data instead of manual statements.
- Accounting and subscriptions: automatic reconciliation of payments against invoices, and smooth recurring subscription collection.
The core idea: customer data moves with their consent to serve them — rather than staying locked away where no one benefits from it.
Security and privacy first
Open banking is built on the customer's explicit consent and works only through providers licensed and supervised by SAMA. Because it touches sensitive financial data, compliance with the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) is essential: collect the least data necessary, encrypt it, and use precise permissions with operation logging.
How to start
Begin with one clear, high-return use case — like adding direct bank payment at checkout, or speeding up creditworthiness checks in financing — by integrating with a licensed provider within SAMA's framework. Prove success with numbers, then expand gradually.
Origami's role
At Origami we connect your systems and store to open banking APIs through licensed providers, with a secure, PDPL-compliant design and a smooth payment experience for your customer. We start with one use case, measure it with numbers, then expand.
Sources
- Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) — Open Banking: sama.gov.sa
- SAMA's Open Banking Program.
- Note: services and the list of licensed providers evolve continuously; check the official, up-to-date source before any integration.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between open banking and traditional payment gateways?
A payment gateway processes a card transaction, while open banking lets you — with the customer's consent — read their banking data or initiate a payment directly from their account to yours via standardized APIs, which can lower fees and unlock broader use cases like financial verification.
Is my data and my customers' data safe?
Yes, when you follow the right frameworks. The ecosystem works on the customer's explicit consent and only through SAMA-licensed entities, while applying the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL): least data necessary, encryption, and precise permissions.
Does my company need a license to use it?
Offering open banking services as a provider requires a SAMA license. But as a business owner, you usually benefit from it by integrating with a licensed provider without holding the license yourself.
What's the fastest way to benefit from it in my business?
Pick one clear, high-return use case — like direct bank payment at checkout or faster financial verification for financing — integrate with a licensed provider, then measure the result before scaling.
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