Manama, Bahrain – With the introduction of new regulations by the Central Bank of Bahrain, mandating banks to comply with Open Banking standards, Gulf Business Machines (GBM), has partnered with Banfico from the United Kingdom to help financial institutions adopt open banking solutions in Bahrain and GCC region. Within the framework of the partnership, GBM will provide technology components required for the solution, as well as manage the overall implementation by leveraging its experience in cooperating in the financial industry, while Banfico will deliver the compliant implementation and also provide consulting services in Digital Transformation & Open Banking.
“As we continue to support our customers with their digital transformation, we’re thrilled to be partnering with Banfico to assist financial institutions with their implementation of Open Banking, which is an important milestone for Bahrain and the region as a whole,” said Abdulla Ishaq, General Manager, GBM Bahrain. ”Given our history in the Kingdom’s financial sector and our expertise in digital transformation, GBM is well positioned to provide financial customers with solutions to facilitate their digital transformation towards Open Banking.”
Bahrain’s financial services industry has evolved substantially over the past few years with the rise of Fintech and digital transformation. As the country works towards becoming the regional Fintech hub, it will now be the first in the Middle East to introduce Open Banking. As such, an Open Banking Event was held by GBM, Banfico, and Bahrain Fintech Bay with IT experts from the financial industry attending. This further development of financial technology will improve services for customers around the region in the most efficient way, making their transactions one step easier.
“Open Banking is a key regulation explored by many countries to make banking more competitive and innovative. The way we do banking in the coming years will be dictated by this regulation where APIs are going to be the norm of future banking products and experience. Fintechs, banks & Central Bank of Bahrain see value in Open Banking and are quick to embrace it. We are honored to be part of this fantastic initiative and share our experience from Europe. We see great partnership in GBM to deliver value to clients in this region”, commented Kannan Rasappan, Founder & CEO, Banfico.
This implementation of Open Banking will benefit both the financial institutions and the end-user as it will make online banking more simple and efficient in terms of timing and sustainability, and will also introduce a number of new services to customers, such as a consistent global view of multiple accounts or optimized payment account selection. With API’s from both financial services and third-party Fintechs, financial institutions will be able to rapidly and securely building next-generation apps encouraging digital innovation amongst the region.
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About Gulf Business Machines (GBM)
Founded and operating in the region since 1990, GBM is the number one provider of IT solutions, leveraging industry leading technologies to drive real business results for clients. GBM is the sole distributor for IBM – excluding selected IBM products and services – throughout the GCC, apart from Saudi Arabia. GBM’s momentum was further enhanced in 1999, when the company secured the Cisco portfolio. Most recently GBM was named as the Apple Authorised Systems Integrator for the UAE.
GBM offers an extensive range of IT infrastructure, solutions and services ranging from consulting, resource deployment and integration to after-sales support. The company has offices in the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah), Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Pakistan.
Continuously recognized by its international partners, this year GBM has been awarded as IBM's Top Business Partner, Cisco's Middle East Partner of the Year, and Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence, the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Program.
For more information please visit www.gbmme.com
About Banfico
Banfico Ltd is a specialist Open Banking Consulting and Implementation service provider. We are Open Banking experts from - Identity & Access Management, API, Regulatory, Payments and Project Management. Our team is formed from experts of UK's top 9 banks and gained valuable experience in implementing Open Banking Programs in last 3 years.
Banfico is advisory board member of Berlin Group, which is largest API standards publishing body for PSD2 Regulation in Europe/EEA. We are part of various working groups in UK. Banfico is also an official Fintech Directory Service Provider for Open Banking Europe, the most widely used service in Europe.
Find more details at www.banfico.com
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