Providing open banking solutions to the fintech sector

This article is produced and sponsored by Architecht. It was first published in the Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021 produced by DinarStandard and Elipses. The report can be downloaded from here. 

Digitalization has been picked up pace during the pandemic, new products, services, new customer behaviors, and innovative business ideas have emerged worldwide, and thus new business processes. The business model called "Islamic Fintech" in the literature can shortly be defined as an adjustment of financial, technological developments to Islamic finance and ethical finance. Islamic fintech companies are essential since they can focus on niche fields where the conventional instruments cannot. In recent years, we have seen some successful examples of this business model, which created its ecosystem to a great extent.

The open banking system, which was introduced as one of the future finance models, refers to a secure banking model where third parties can access customers' financial information with customers' consent. Open banking technologies have become the center of attraction of the fintech ecosystem globally. In countries where financial services are conducted, sharia-compliant, open banking helps organizations provide remote identity verification, payment, and funding services to their customers.

In 2015, Architecht was established in Turkey as a 100% technology subsidiary of the Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank under the roof of the Kuwait Finance House, one of the pioneer sharia-compliant banks of the Gulf. Architecht's areas of expertise are financial technologies, cloud-based platforms, security technologies, alternative solutions, software development, and support services. It offers products and services to a wide range of institutions such as banks, telecommunications companies, technology companies, and private insurance & pension companies.

Architecht, with 30 years of finance and technology experience, serves an open banking solution called ApiGo. It provides banks, and financial organizations can manage API services to third parties with a gateway platform and complies with PSD2 (Payment Service Directive 2) and Berlin Group Standards. The banks and fintech companies can adjust to open banking quickly while enabling you to manage open banking requirements with a customized customer experience on a cloud-based platform.

ApiGo supports the sector and society to improve managing open banking processes, minimizing costs, and providing an efficient innovation where it is most needed. In addition to the advantages of open banking, encouraging competition and innovation, and changing the finance sector's nature globally, ApiGo increases the user-orientation of the products and services in the industry. Thus, it comes up with a new beginning.

Architecht invests in open banking technologies and accompanies the banks and financial organizations' digitalization journey in Turkey, Gulf, and Europe with its SaaS (Software as a Service) products developed to address various requirements in the finance sector. With its innovative product portfolio and international business partners and clients, Architecht set out to become one of the leading cutting-edge technology companies in Turkey. It became one of Turkey's best IT companies in its first year and was awarded for its B2B innovative products.

Copyright Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021