Recently, Salt Edge took part in an event organised by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) in Baku, focused on the next steps and directions for implementing open banking in the country. The workshop brought together representatives from the local financial sector to discuss regulatory progress, market readiness, and practical implementation considerations.

The Current Stage of Open Banking in Azerbaijan

Open banking in Azerbaijan is still in its early stages of implementation. The CBA launched the initial phase by introducing the National Open Banking platform on October 6, 2025. An initiative that is part of a broader Digital Finance initiative under the Financial Sector Development Strategy for 2024–2026, aiming to shift the country’s financial services from traditional models to open, API-based, and consumer-centric services.

At this stage, the regulatory intent is to establish strong coordination among regulators, banks, and technology partners by providing clear guidance and supporting successful implementation of open banking.

Laying the Groundwork for Open Banking Beyond Compliance

During the event, participants examined how open banking is evolving from a regulatory requirement to a strategic opportunity for market participants. Fidan Tofidi, Director of the Financial Technologies and Innovations Department at CBA, opened the event by emphasising that open banking is a core pillar of Azerbaijan’s digital financial transformation and highlighted its role in

• enabling secure and reliable data exchange between banks and fintechs;
• supporting the development of innovative financial services;
• fostering a more competitive and transparent market environment;

The workshop addressed both progress to date and the priorities ahead, including regulatory readiness, market alignment, and the importance of establishing consistent technical and operational standards to support controlled market adoption. The event included a practical session where representatives from fintechs and banks worked in teams to identify innovative Open Banking use cases and develop product ideas.

Key topics included supervisory expectations, the role of technology partners in supporting compliance, and how banks can prepare operationally while ensuring security, data protection, and consumer trust remain central to implementation efforts.

Building on these discussions, Salt Edge contributed its expertise, offering practical insights on how financial institutions can move from regulatory requirements to operational implementation. 

Bridging Policy with Practice: Open Banking Use Cases for Central Banks

Salt Edge has a long-standing role in advising central banks on the design and implementation of open banking frameworks. Our Business Development Manager, Riccardo Fedeli, delivered an insightful presentation with practical perspectives drawn from multiple markets, exploring how regulatory direction can be translated into scalable use cases. Particularly relevant use cases presented were lending and payments:

• In lending, Open Banking enables access to verified financial data, supporting more accurate, real-time credit assessments, while also unlocking upsell and cross-sell opportunities. 

• In payments, Open Banking enables seamless account-to-account transactions as an alternative to traditional card-based models.

From a regulatory perspective, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan’s centralised Open Banking approach enables it to play a key supervisory role by providing access to standardised, aggregated financial data. However, during the workshop, it was also emphasised that bridging the banking and fintech ecosystems remains critical for Open Banking to succeed.

Looking Ahead

We value the opportunity to engage directly with the Central Bank of Azerbaijan and financial institutions in the region and remain committed to supporting the country’s open banking journey with proven expertise, compliant technology, and hands-on regulatory guidance.

Contact our team to learn how Salt Edge supports central banks in advancing open banking initiatives and shaping the future of financial services.