Sanya Juneja (Principal Researcher), Krishnamurthy Suresh (Principal Researcher), Bill Roberts, Dana K. Salman, Pavle Avramovic, and Bryan Zhang.
The APAC State of Open Banking and Open Finance Report examines how open banking and open finance are being implemented across 16 jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. It evaluates the differences in implementation, identifies regional trends, compares these with global trends, and explores the reasons behind these patterns. The report includes detailed case studies from 9 jurisdictions in the region.
Conducted by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) with the support of the Asian Development Bank Institute and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, this report provides valuable insights for policymakers, regulators, and industry stakeholders, offering a comprehensive, timely, and evidence-based understanding of open banking and open finance in the APAC region.
Key takeaways
1
Tailored approaches to open banking and open finance in the region
Open banking and open finance are rapidly advancing across the APAC region, with 16 jurisdictions adopting frameworks to varying extents. These frameworks differ significantly in design and technical architecture, influenced by each jurisdiction’s unique policy objectives, capacity, financial market dynamics, digital readiness and regulatory environment.
2
Preference towards market-driven approaches to open banking
Two broad categories of governance approach can be identified: regulation-led, adopted by 6 jurisdictions, and market-driven, adopted by 8 jurisdictions. Jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia rely on market forces due to their competitive banking landscapes, while most APAC nations prefer ‘Guided Implementation’ over fully voluntary models.
3
APAC leads in open finance regulation
Among 16 jurisdictions in APAC, 56% have enacted open banking regulations, closely aligning with the global rate of 63%. While open finance is less advanced globally, it is progressing faster in APAC, with 8 jurisdictions (57% of the global total) having issued regulations. Jurisdictions in APAC are expanding the scope of frameworks beyond banking to encompass a wider range of financial services to facilitate broader access to financial services.
4
APAC excels in live data sharing
APAC jurisdictions outperform global averages in live financial data sharing, which measures the breadth of actively shared data types (scored out of 6). Regulation-led jurisdictions in APAC average a score of 4, higher than the global average of 2.67, with New Zealand and South Korea leading at 5. Market-driven jurisdictions in APAC also outperform their global counterparts, averaging 2.9 compared with the global market-driven average of 1.96, although data coverage varies significantly across jurisdictions.
5
Emphasis on infrastructural development and digital financial education
The jurisdiction analysis highlights different challenges for different jurisdictions, such as incentivising bank participation, significant compliance costs, pace of adoption or low uptake. Additionally, the stakeholders noted the importance of infrastructure development, existence of legal framework, regulatory coordination, and promoting digital and financial education, particularly in emerging markets, which are vital for driving adoption and ensuring long-term sustainability in the region.