Exploring open banking and banking-as-a-platform: opportunities and risks for emerging markets

Globalisation, technology, the liberalisation of financial markets, and changing consumer behaviour are changing the banking sector irrevocably. Incumbent banks are faced with unprecedented competition from global competitors, large and small, and both from within and outside the financial services sector. Open banking is a business approach in which data, processes, and business functionalities are made available in an ecosystem of banks, customers, and third parties. This chapter explores Banking-as-a-Platform (BaaP), a digital platform strategy for banking. After discussing the key technologies and concepts that underpin BaaP, we present a conceptual reference model for a platform-based bank and discuss the opportunities and challenges for policymakers, banks, FinTech companies, and entrepreneurs in emerging markets.