Salt Edge takes its open banking solutions to Jordan

The Central Bank of Jordan believes open banking is crucial for innovation and competition in the digital economy

Salt Edge is continuing its expansion in the Middle East with the release of its open banking solutions in Jordan. 

The London, UK-headquartered company will assist banks operating in Jordan and other local financial institutions as the country seeks to digitise its financial services.  

In a similar move, Salt Edge recently rolled out its services in Saudi Arabia. 

As open banking expands in the Middle East, Salt Edge’s open banking solutions will help financial institutions and their customers by sharing banking data with third parties using API technology. 

Salt Edge also said in a statement that its solutions will allow banks to be open banking-compliant in one month. 

The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) believes open banking is crucial for innovation and competition in the increasingly digital economy.  

In December 2022, the CBJ issued a global banking framework that all banks operating in the region must follow. 

As part of this framework, banks must allow authorised parties access to customers’ data through API. As a result, institutions need the necessary technology to be compliant by the end of 2023.  

Banks that have adopted Salt Edge’s technology so far include Jordan Ahli Bank, Byblos Bank and Habib Bank.  

Alina Beleuta, chief growth officer at Salt Edge, commented: “As the Middle East is taking confident steps to accelerate its position as a global financial hub, we are thrilled to see countries like Jordan taking proactive measures to achieve this.  

“The newly issued guidelines represent a step toward broader financial inclusion and cutting-edge technologies, all of which are enabled by open banking.” 

On the particular challenges faced in Jordan, Beleuta added: “Compared to other countries in the region, Jordan has a slightly different regulatory approach toward the interaction between banks and third parties—these being under contractual agreements and, as a result, adding an additional layer of friction.  

“In order to establish the relationship, the bank will need to find a mechanism for identifying and verifying the third party, another task that can be handled by Salt Edge.” 

Image: Canva 

Josh Poyser Josh Poyser is an editor at FinTech Intel. He has written about fintech for several years and appeared at FinTech Connect 2023 on the 'Unlocking Success: The Art of Fintech PR' panel.