Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s open banking market is expected to expand from $7 billion in 2018 to around $43 billion by 2026, said Mohammed El-Kuwaiz, chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Financial Academy (FA) Board of Trustees.
El-Kuwaiz announced this at the conclusion of the Open Banking Hackathon, held here between February 4 and 19.
According to him, this growth reflects the global acceptance and integration of open banking, signaling the significant potential for innovation in financial services.
El-Kuwaiz also underscored the pivotal role of open banking in shaping the future of financial services, highlighting its capacity to enhance transparency, elevate customer experience, and promote fair and effective competition among financial institutions.
He commended the Open Banking Hackathon as the Financial Academy’s first innovative initiative following the unveiling of its new strategy.
The hackathon provides a knowledge-based and professional development experience that helps one keep pace with future challenges, and provides practical exposure to financial technology, he noted.
El-Kuwaiz said developing specialized national capabilities in future technologies aims at positioning the Kingdom as a global hub for financial technology, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030’s Financial Sector Development Program.
He further mentioned that a study conducted in 2023 on training in the financial sector indicated an anticipated rise in the market value of training from SAR788 million to approximately SAR1 billion by 2026.
The study also forecast a significant increase in the number of individuals seeking training and professional certifications, with expectations surpassing 130,000.
According to El-Kuwaiz, 75 percent of organizations have indicated readiness to invest in human capital, acknowledging its crucial role in driving the development of the financial sector and realizing the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
To bolster this remarkable growth, FA revealed a new three-year strategy whose primary focus is to become the preferred choice for entities in the financial sector seeking to develop and enhance their human resources, said El-Kuwaiz who added that the academy aims to serve as a platform for localized professional training and skill development, which provides exceptional training facilities for all beneficiaries of its services and products.
El-Kuwaiz stressed that the Open Banking Hackathon, attended by leaders and experts in the Kingdom’s financial sector, aligns with the academy’s new strategic direction.
Meanwhile, FA CEO Mana Al-Khamsan said that the hackathon convened professionals from the banking and financial services sector, financial technology companies in Saudi Arabia, and software developers.
Al-Khamsan said that participants in the hackathon received intensive specialized training, expert guidance, and certificates from the FA and internationally recognized institutions, such as the Silicon Valley Innovation Center, LAU, and Ozone API.
The hackathon is designed to equip the participants with knowledge and skills to tackle the challenges of tomorrow’s financial landscape. It focuses on Open Banking (OB) services and technologies and how to leverage them to create market-influencing financial applications, based on the Kingdom’s OB standards.
Throughout the event, a team of expert coaches and mentors will guide and support the participants as they develop their projects or prototypes until pitched to the judges on Demo Day.
At the hackathon’s closing ceremony, the judging committee presented the projects evaluated. Thirty talented young men and women from the Kingdom submitted their projects, and the winner of this edition’s hackathon was announced.
The FA leverages its material and human resources to deliver high-level initiatives and products that contribute to achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
The academy aims to push the financial sector forward through a comprehensive strategy, while adhering to the highest global standards of innovation in financial services.