UAE Central Bank completes Project Aperta to enhance cross-border open finance

The Central Bank of the UAE completed Project Aperta, a cross-border open finance initiative to enable faster, safer, and more efficient international financial data exchange.
The project, led by the Bank for International Settlements and involving multiple global regulators, demonstrated how domestic open finance networks can be linked through a trusted interoperability layer without altering national financial frameworks.
Project Aperta tested two use cases across five economies: secure cross-border data portability to speed up business onboarding and trade finance lifecycle management to streamline contract-to-settlement processes.
The initiative confirmed that cross-border data exchange can reduce duplication, compliance costs, and onboarding times, benefiting SMEs engaged in international trade.
The project supports the UAE’s goal to build advanced financial infrastructure, positioning the country among leading central banks in promoting financial stability and global market access.
All technical blueprints, protocols, and data models from Project Aperta have been released as open, reusable public goods to encourage adoption by other markets.