Open Finance – UAE FIT Program

TeamHeroes supported the winning bid and early-stage implementation for the Central Bank of the UAE’s Open Finance initiative, which is part of the country’s broader Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Program. This project is a model of how national architecture, sovereign cloud, and public–private alignment can translate policy into execution.

A National Framework for Consent-Based Finance

Open Finance in the UAE is not just an open banking extension. It is a fully sovereign, consent-driven financial data framework.

• Centralized API Hub (powered by Ozone API)
• Trust Framework (delivered by Radium)
• Hosted entirely on sovereign cloud infrastructure

The program enables licensed institutions to share user-consented data with third-party providers, including fintechs, remittance firms, and insurance platforms.

What We Contributed

As the commercial lead for Core42, Erwin van Helden served as overall owner of the Open Finance bid, leading the prime contracting party and being fully accountable for the team structure, subcontractor selection, pricing strategy, and delivery design.

• Shaped the winning consortium and bid strategy
• Owned price structuring and commercial governance
• Aligned internal and external delivery partners
• Managed early implementation and mobilization planning

This also involved defining participation pathways for third parties and aligning the project’s technical architecture with the Central Bank’s evolving roadmap.

Phased Rollout, Sovereign Execution

The first phase of the initiative includes:

• Design and deployment of Open Banking APIs
• Local setup of the centralized API hub (SaaS model)
• Future expansion into Open Insurance, remittances, and FX use cases

The framework enables “deemed licensees” to apply for participation. This expands the market beyond traditional banks while ensuring a controlled and secure approach to ecosystem growth.

Signing of Partnership Agreement with Al Etihad Payments and Core42

Signing of Partnership Agreement with Al Etihad Payments and Core42, representing the national Open Finance initiative.

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