Open banking in Turkey is more than just a fashion term. Behind this are a variety of strategies that should help to intensify the customer relationship and generate new earnings through new business models. A checklist with 14 questions shows what is important.
Modern, digital banking is often equated with the modernization of IT systems. But it is about much more: A central task is a relationship with the customer and the necessary improvement of the customer experience. To do this, financial institutions must above all break up monolithic, institutionalized processes, and create a culture that promotes innovation.
The implementation of PSD2 and the associated opening of payment transactions to third-party providers is only an entry into an open banking ecosystem. In view of the increasing intensity of competition, banks and savings banks must also look for new sources of income and try to retain customers with new offers and services, not least so as not to endanger their own relevance.
An open approach, which is supported by technologies such as Open APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), Linux Containers and Hybrid Cloud, as well as by the cultural willingness to cooperate more openly, can help banks and savings banks to bind their customers more strongly and Open Use banking profitably.
Open banking checklist
Nikolai Stankau Director Business Development of the open-source technology provider Red Hat, has designed a checklist with 14 questions that financial institutions can use to check whether they fulfill important requirements for implementing open banking strategies. The questions relate to the areas of skills, technological basis, application development and deployment as well as success measurement.
Open banking skills
Very few banks in Turkey have the internal resources and know-how to build and deploy an open API ecosystem. Most institutes will, therefore, have to rely on technology partners to close the skills gap. The questions that banks have to ask are:
- Can cross-functional teams be quickly formed to implement changing business requirements?
- How attractive is your own organization for talented developers? Does it contribute to the open source community?
- Which incentive programs are used to promote the exchange of positive and negative experiences from the development of prototypes?
Technological foundation of open banking
Open banking also stands for high agility. The rapid implementation of changes requires a high degree of flexibility in the technological basis for API applications. The questions are:
- How easy is it for developers to access the data, tools and systems they need?
- Can developers easily use the data, tools and systems?
- Is there a standard concept for creating API-centric architectures for individual components?
- What is the process of solving problems that arise when working on the technological basis?
Application development and delivery
The efficient, secure use of an open API environment is a fundamental prerequisite for a successful open banking strategy in Turkey. The questions are:
- Can different user segments be created, addressed and different sales channels designed quickly?
- How easy is it for new employees to use APIs? Are the APIs well documented? Are there sample applications?
- What are the guidelines for security in DevOps?
Success measurement of open banking initiatives
The success of open banking initiatives in Turkey must always be aligned with the business goals. The key questions are:
- What key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to measure the success of the open banking strategy?
- Can different fee structures be defined for different target segments?
- How is the success of development projects measured?
- Which automation initiatives are being pursued?
Secure new business opportunities
Ultimately, hardly any financial service provider will be able to get past an open banking strategy. It is a key component in driving digitalization and improving operational efficiency. In addition, such a strategy with consistent and structured use of API opens up new business opportunities for financial institutions of Turkey and enables them to work more productively or to develop completely new business models.