Outcomes
- Understand the Basics: Define the concept of Open Finance and how it differs from traditional banking models.
- Identify Technical Tools: Learn the role of APIs in connecting financial services and the basic standards for data sharing.
- Navigate Regulations: Get familiar with the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) requirements and essential privacy rules.
- Explore Practical Use Cases: Discover real-world examples of Open Finance services, such as budgeting apps and simplified lending.
- Prepare for Implementation: Identify the initial practical steps needed to start or support an Open Finance project within an organization.
Target Group
• Banking & Finance Professionals: Managers and officers in operations, settlements, and trade finance looking to modernize traditional workflows.
• FinTech Entrepreneurs & Innovators: Individuals building or working in startups that aim to disrupt traditional financial services.
• Compliance & Risk Officers: Professionals who need to understand the regulatory implications, security risks, and audit trails of digital assets.
• Digital Transformation Teams: Leaders responsible for implementing new technologies and steering the bank’s future digital strategy.
Contents
Module 1: The Foundations of Trust (How it Works)
• The Paradigm Shift: Moving from centralized ledgers (Traditional Banking) to Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
• Core Mechanics: Simplified explanation of Blocks, Hashing, and Nodes (The "Immutability" factor).
• Consensus Simplified: How the network agrees on a transaction without a central authority (Proof of Work vs. Proof of Stake).
Module 2: Smart Contracts & Automation
• Defining Smart Contracts: "If-This-Then-That" logic applied to financial agreements.
• Eliminating Middlemen: How automation reduces human error, costs, and processing time in clearing and settlement.
• The Oracle Problem: How blockchain gets reliable data from the outside world (e.g., gold prices or exchange rates).
Module 3: Digital Assets & The Future of Money
• Tokenization: Turning physical assets (Real Estate, Gold, Stocks) into digital tokens on the blockchain.
• Stablecoins: Why they are becoming a preferred tool for instant cross-border payments.
• Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC): Understanding the role of central banks in issuing digital versions of national currencies.
Module 4: Practical Use Cases in Modern Banking
• Cross-Border Payments: Reducing time from days to seconds using blockchain protocols (e.g., Ripple, Stellar).
• Trade Finance: Digitizing Bills of Lading and Letters of Credit to prevent fraud and speed up global trade.
• Identity Management (KYC): Creating a "Reusable KYC" to onboard customers across different financial institutions securely.
Module 5: Challenges, Regulation, and Integration
• The Scalability Challenge: Can blockchain handle millions of transactions per second?
• Regulatory Landscapes: Understanding how global and local regulators (like the CBJ) view digital assets.
• Hybrid Models: How to integrate blockchain with existing legacy banking systems (The "Co-existence" strategy).
Practical Hands-on Session (Workshop)
• The Lifecycle of a Transaction: Visualizing how a payment travels through a blockchain network vs. a traditional Swift network.
• Smart Contract Logic Design: Participants will map out the logic for a "Conditional Payment" (e.g., release funds only when shipping is confirmed).