Alinma Bank launches AI-driven API marketplace with IBM

By Gloria Methri

Saudi Arabia’s Alinma Bank has partnered with IBM to launch a new API platform leveraging the tech giant’s hybrid cloud and AI integration technologies. This move aims to enhance Alinma Bank’s IT infrastructure and supports the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 for digital transformation and innovation.

Alinma Bank’s centralised API repository currently serves as a mission-critical component within the Bank’s IT architecture, supporting nearly all banking channels, from retail to B2B. This collaboration with IBM aligns with Alinma’s goal to provide corporate customers and FinTech partners with seamless access to advanced digital solutions.

Through IBM Cloud Pak® for Integration, IBM API Connect®, Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud, and IBM DataPower, Alinma’s API platform delivers a secure, scalable infrastructure for FinTechs and SMEs, enhancing user experience and broadening the bank’s reach within the financial services sector.

This centralised API marketplace will allow FinTechs to access critical data easily.

The platform’s deployment streamlined the integration of key internal systems, including onboarding, pricing, and payment processes, with IBM’s API Connect, the central solution in this architecture, simplifying complex setups to provide consistent, reliable services. IBM’s API Connect, along with the scalable deployment capabilities of Red Hat OpenShift, enables Alinma to maintain a secure, centralised repository for critical financial data while ensuring compliance and consistency throughout its API lifecycle.

“IBM is a valuable, trusted partner in our journey to becoming one of the kingdom’s most agile and responsive financial institutions,” said Yasser AlOufi, Chief Information Officer at Alinma Bank. “As an innovation-driven bank, we are dedicated to delivering world-class offerings that empower our clients and partners to succeed. Our new API platform exemplifies this focus, providing corporate customers and FinTech partners with competitive, secure, and accessible digital services that support their growth and resilience.”

Fahad Alanazi, General Manager of IBM Saudi Arabia, said, “Our collaboration on the API Monetisation platform unlocks greater potential for Saudi FinTechs and SMEs. We look forward to our continued partnership as Alinma paves the way for innovation in the Kingdom’s financial services sector.”