Client
Central Bank of The United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) – UAE
Project
Central Bank of The United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) wanted to launch best-in-class Open Finance services in the Banking and FX Remittances sectors.
The timelines of the project were limited to 14 months from first engagement to commercial launch and the Open Finance standards had to overcome the issues & limitations of implementations in other countries such as the UK or Brazil.
What we delivered
Acting as an Open Finance product lead on this project, we provided subject matter expertise across multiple critical workstreams, playing a central role in shaping & delivering key components of the initiative.
We led the editing and publishing of comprehensive Business Rules for the Payment Initiation Service (PIS), covering a wide range of payment types, including Single Instant Payments (SIPs), Future Dated Payments (FDPs), Multi-Payments (fixed and variable), and Bulk/Batch Payments.
We also lead the development of a pioneering FX & Remittance Services proposition for banks and exchange houses, introducing the world’s first Open Finance quoting service for FX, integrated with real-time quoting and dynamic account opening capabilities.
Client
Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) – Saudi Arabia
Project
Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) wanted to launch Open Banking services in Saudi Arabia. The Open Banking project was split into 2 phases, with phase 1 investigating account information services, while phase 2 focused on launching payment initiation services.
The additional requirements for the Strategy and Product team, was to engage with the local market and identify the use cases to be implemented for the Open Banking standards.
Project duration was 20 months for both phases.
What we delivered
Reporting to the Head of Strategy and Business for the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority’s (SAMA) Open Banking initiative, our team played a central role in defining & delivering the strategic and functional foundations of the program.
We led the end-to-end development of Business Rules for all PIS use cases – including Single Instant Payments (SIP), Future Dated Payments (FDP), Fixed and Variable Recurring Payments (FRP, VRP), Refunds, and Request to Pay.
We also authored the Business Rules, Customer Experience Guidelines, and Operational Guidelines for the initial AIS use cases, which now form the live version of the AIS standard in Saudi Arabia.
Our team also developed a comprehensive Market Participants framework based on segmentation analysis and contributed to key strategic outputs including the dispute and liability model, commercial pricing model, and compliance certification checklist.
Client
RBS Group, EU Divestment (Future Williams & Glyn’s) – UK
Project
The RBS Group was mandated by the UK government and the EU to divest and create a new retail & commercial bank under the brand of Williams & Glyn’s (W&G).
The interim leadership of W&G required payments product strategy and subject matter expertise in order to get a new bank license to operate, perform payment product risk assessments and define the short and medium-term strategy for the bank.
The project duration was 2 years.
What we delivered
Reporting to the Head of Payments & International at W&G, we provided critical payment products leadership during the bank’s formation as part of the RBS Group’s mandated divestment.
Our consultants acted as the Product Owner for all electronic payment products – including, BACS, CHAPS, SEPA, LIPS, and SWIFT international payments.
Our team were accountable for managing the payments portfolio P&L, and represented W&G as the key stakeholder for the delivery of all payments services by RBS Programme Delivery teams.
We also led the formulation of W&G’s Domestic and International Payments Strategy for the bank’s Day 2 operating model (five-year horizon) and conducted in-depth FCA-mandated Product Risk Assessments for core payment products to support W&G’s banking license application.
Client
Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) – UK
Project
The UK Government launched an initiative to democratise account information and payment initiation to the UK called Open Banking.
Initially driven by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) to increase competitiveness in the retail banking space in 2017, the project was later required to deliver the standards for the compliance to the EU Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) and the local legislation under the Payment Services Regulator (PSR).
The project duration was near 5 years.
What we delivered
Reporting to the CTO of the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), our team played a key leadership role in delivering one of the UK Government’s most significant financial services reforms – Open Banking.
Throughout the project, we led the development of the Payment Initiation Services (PIS) and Card-Based Payment Instrument Issuer (CBPII) propositions, taking them from initial concept through to fully defined technical standards.
This involved coordinating and integrating customer experience, regulatory, and business requirements to ensure practical outcomes.
Our team served as the Product Owner for both the Customer Experience Guidelines (CEGs) and Operational Guidelines (OGs), ensuring the usability, interoperability, and consistency of the standards across all ecosystem participants.
Client
Global Buy-out Company – Canada
Project
A global buy-out company preparing a bid for De La Rue which has put its Currency Division up for sale.
What we delivered
With extensive experience supporting fintechs from Seed to Series B, our consultants engaged as a strategic advisors on a complex commercial bid for De La Rue – a global leader in currency and authentication solutions.
Our role extended across multiple critical workstreams, including commercial strategy development, funding advisory, and market positioning.
Drawing on our expertise in both physical and digital currency markets, we provided insight into De La Rue’s competitive positioning, commercial levers, and operational efficiency opportunities.
Moreover, we supported the capital raising process, advising on engagement strategy with private equity investors.
Leveraging our network and experience across early and growth-stage fintechs, we helped shape the funding narrative and ensured alignment between investor expectations and the strategic vision.
Client
Future Payments Forum – UK
Project
Strategic coordinators for the Future Payments Forum – expert representatives from leading innovators in fintech and the global payments sector.
Collaboration and assembling with experts from Bank of England, Digital Pound Foundation, as well as fintech startups in tackling pressing challenges and emerging themes across the rapidly evolving payments landscape.
What we delivered
Our team served as strategic coordinators and core contributors to the forum’s success – playing a key role in ensuring the forum delivered meaningful dialogue on topics such as CBDC, interoperability, and real time payment systems.
Building on company ideas, drawing connections across expert perspectives, and helping distil key insights. The contributions ensured the forum wasn’t just a roundtable – it became a space for genuine collaboration and innovation in digital payments.