Methodology
How we calculate Observatory metrics and derive ecosystem status
Data Sources
All data displayed in the Observatory is derived from the public UAE Open Finance Trust Framework Directory, operated by Raidiam on behalf of Nebras Open Finance LLC (a CBUAE subsidiary).
Dual Environment Collection
We collect data from both environments of the UAE Open Finance Trust Framework:
Live ecosystem with licensed participants actively providing Open Finance services.
data.directory.openfinance.ae Testing environment where institutions complete certification before going live.
data.sandbox.directory.openfinance.ae Update Frequency
Data is collected automatically once per day at 06:00 UTC via a GitHub Actions workflow. Each collection creates timestamped snapshots for both production and sandbox environments.
Historical snapshots are preserved, enabling trend analysis and visualization of ecosystem growth over time. Milestones (such as new participant registrations) are automatically tracked.
Metric Definitions
Core Metrics
Total Participants
Count of all organizations registered in the directory, regardless of status. Changes are tracked over time to show ecosystem growth.
Live in Production
Participants that have at least one active Authorization Server with a valid issuer URL. This indicates they have completed technical integration and can process API requests.
Shariah Compliant
Institutions flagged as Shariah-compliant in the directory, offering Islamic finance products that comply with Islamic law principles.
Multi-Role Participants
Institutions registered with two or more roles (e.g., LFI + BDSP + BSIP). This indicates deeper integration with the Open Finance ecosystem.
Participant Roles
Roles are defined by the CBUAE Open Finance Regulation:
LFI — Licensed Financial Institution
Banks and financial institutions licensed by CBUAE that hold customer accounts and provide core banking services.
BDSP — Bank Data Service Provider
Entities that provide data sharing services, enabling secure access to customer financial data.
BSIP — Bank Service Infrastructure Provider
Technical infrastructure providers that support Open Finance connectivity and API operations.
ISP — Information Service Provider
Entities that aggregate and provide financial information services using customer data.
TPP — Third Party Provider
Fintech companies and other third parties that access Open Finance APIs to provide innovative financial services.
Note: A single participant may hold multiple roles simultaneously.
API Families
Derived from the API resources registered under each participant's authorization servers:
Account Information
APIs for accessing account balances, transactions, and account holder information.
Payments
Payment Initiation APIs enabling authorized third parties to initiate payments on behalf of customers.
Confirmation of Payee (CoP)
APIs for verifying payee details before payment execution, reducing fraud and misdirected payments.
Products
Product Information APIs providing details about financial products offered by institutions.
Authorization Capabilities
Technical capabilities extracted from each participant's authorization servers:
CIBA — Client Initiated Backchannel Authentication
Decoupled authentication flow where the authorization is initiated from a consumption device but authentication happens on a different device (e.g., mobile phone). Enhances security for headless and IoT scenarios.
DCR — Dynamic Client Registration
Capability allowing Third Party Providers to register their applications dynamically via API, streamlining the onboarding process for TPPs.
Redirect Flow
Standard OAuth 2.0 redirect-based authentication flow where users are redirected to the bank's authorization server to authenticate and grant consent.
Cross-Environment Analysis
When viewing "Both" environments, additional metrics are available:
In Both Environments
Participants registered in both production and sandbox, indicating full ecosystem integration.
Sandbox Only
Participants currently in the testing/certification phase. These represent the pipeline of institutions preparing for production launch.
Production Only
Participants that have graduated from sandbox to production and may have removed their sandbox registration.
Historical Trends
The Observatory tracks ecosystem growth over time by preserving daily snapshots. The Ecosystem Growth chart displays:
- Total participant count over time
- Net change in participants (growth/decline)
- Milestones marking when new participants joined
Historical data is automatically aggregated from daily snapshots to provide trend visualization without requiring manual data entry.
Known Limitations
- We only display publicly available metadata; we cannot verify actual API functionality or performance
- Participant counts may differ from official CBUAE statistics due to registration timing differences
- TPP count may appear low as many fintechs are still in the onboarding/certification process
- Historical data before the launch of this Observatory is not available
- Sandbox data availability depends on the public API being accessible (may require authentication in future)
- Authorization capability flags (CIBA, DCR, Redirect) reflect declared support, not verified functionality
Data Freshness
The "Last updated" timestamp shown on the Observatory indicates when the data was last collected. If collection fails (e.g., API unavailable), the previous snapshot is retained and the timestamp reflects the last successful collection.
Each environment (production and sandbox) is collected independently. If one environment fails, the other may still be updated successfully.
Open Source
The collector script and all data transformations are open source. You can review the code at:
Key files:
scripts/collect-observatory.ts— Data collection and transformationscripts/utils/directory-client.ts— API client for both environmentsscripts/types/participant.ts— TypeScript type definitionsdata/observatory/— Snapshots and historical data
If you find an error or have suggestions, please open an issue.