GCC Open Finance Intelligence
Open finance across the Gulf, verified from primary sources.
Six countries, tracked in depth: what regulation exists, who is licensed, and what is coming next. Competitors cover 100+ countries shallowly, and are often wrong. We cover one region — and every number, status and claim on this page shows its source and the date we last checked it.
At a glance
The numbers, filtered honestly
The Pulse
Open finance status by country
Click any cell — including the empty ones — for the sourced evidence. An empty cell with a verification date is a checked fact, not a gap.
Select any cell for the evidence. Countries with financial free zones show a note — those zones have their own regulators, and their own answers.
Forward-looking
What's coming next
- Q3 2026Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) launch expected in KSASaudi Arabia
- 2026Qatar: open banking framework expected to move from strategy to regulationQatar
- 2026Kuwait: final Open Banking Regulatory Framework expectedKuwait
Sourced updates
Latest updates
- Saudi Arabia opens open banking licensing — providers can now apply to SAMA
SAMA has moved open banking out of its sandbox era: from 26 March 2026, providing account information, payment initiation or confirmation of funds is a licensed activity requiring a full SAMA licence. It marks the Kingdom's shift from framework to formal market.
- Lean Technologies becomes the first SAMA-licensed open banking provider
Lean Technologies took the first licence under Saudi Arabia's new open banking regime — a benchmark for the providers expected to follow, and the same firm that holds ADGM's first TPP licence and a UAE Open Finance licence.
- The GCC's first open insurance regime goes live in the UAE
Open Insurance launched in the UAE in March 2026 — data-sharing and quote APIs live with regulated default commissions (motor 5%, travel 15%, life 10%), delivered through the Nebras central platform. Brokers licensed within two years keep their existing bilateral terms until March 2028.