Open Finance Glossary
A comprehensive reference of terms and acronyms used in the UAE Open Finance ecosystem.
A
- AIS Account Information Service
- A service that provides consolidated information on payment accounts held by a user at other payment service providers.
- ASPSP Account Servicing Payment Service Provider
- A payment service provider (typically a bank) that holds customer payment accounts and provides access to account data through APIs.
- Al Tareq
- The official UAE Open Finance platform operated by Nebras, providing the technical infrastructure for secure data sharing between financial institutions and TPPs.
- API Application Programming Interface
- A set of protocols and tools that allow different software applications to communicate with each other.
B
- BDSP Banking Data Service Provider
- A TPP authorized to access account information on behalf of customers. Can aggregate data from multiple banks.
- BSIP Banking Service Initiation Provider
- A TPP authorized to initiate payments on behalf of customers from their bank accounts.
C
- CBUAE Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates
- The regulatory authority overseeing the UAE Open Finance framework and licensing of financial institutions.
- Consent
- Explicit authorization given by a customer to a TPP to access their financial data or initiate payments on their behalf.
- CoP Confirmation of Payee
- A name-checking service that verifies the recipient's name before a payment is made, helping prevent misdirected payments.
D
- Directory Trust Framework Directory
- A registry of all approved participants in the Open Finance ecosystem, including banks, TPPs, and their roles.
F
- FAPI Financial-grade API
- A security standard specifically designed for high-risk financial APIs, providing enhanced protection against attacks.
I
- ISP Information Service Provider
- A type of TPP that provides account aggregation and information services to customers.
L
- LFI Licensed Financial Institution
- A bank or financial institution licensed by CBUAE to operate in the UAE.
M
- mTLS Mutual Transport Layer Security
- A security protocol where both client and server authenticate each other using digital certificates.
N
- Nebras
- The operator of the Al Tareq platform, responsible for the technical and operational aspects of UAE Open Finance infrastructure.
O
- OAuth Open Authorization
- An open standard for access delegation, commonly used to grant websites or applications access to information without sharing passwords.
- Open Banking
- A system where banks and other financial institutions share customer data with third parties via APIs, with customer consent.
- Open Finance
- An extension of Open Banking that includes sharing of data beyond payment accounts, such as insurance, investments, and pensions.
P
- PIS Payment Initiation Service
- A service that initiates a payment from a customer's bank account at their request.
- PKCE Proof Key for Code Exchange
- An extension to OAuth 2.0 that prevents authorization code interception attacks.
- PSP Payment Service Provider
- An organization that provides payment services such as processing transactions or enabling payments.
R
- Raidiam
- The technology provider powering the UAE Open Finance trust framework and directory services.
S
- Sandbox
- A testing environment that allows TPPs to develop and test their applications without affecting real customer data.
- SCA Strong Customer Authentication
- Multi-factor authentication required for accessing payment accounts or initiating transactions.
T
- TPP Third Party Provider
- An organization authorized to access customer banking data or initiate payments on their behalf, typically fintechs and payment providers.
- Trust Framework
- The legal, regulatory, and technical rules governing how participants interact within the Open Finance ecosystem.