As open banking matures, we’re seeing a distinct power shift where infrastructure players are becoming orchestrators of financial journeys. This week’s developments signal a strategic clustering around data control, intelligence, and monetizable infrastructure,  pointing to the emergence of a data-enabled financial stack.

• Matching Loans with Data Precision: Experian’s move to co-build a loan-matching engine with Stryd is an underwriting intelligence play. By embedding open banking into the core of mortgage product discovery, Experian is vertically integrating consumer-permissioned data into origination decisions. For traditional bureaus, this is a pivot towards real-time credit matching, with Experian owning not just the score, but the funnel.
• Infrastructure for Identity-Led Financial Data: This alliance is building the plumbing for verified data flows across Latin America. Jumio’s identity graph + Prometeo’s multi-bank connectivity means financial institutions can now execute cross-bank validations with verified user context. It’s a new kind of authentication stack that moves beyond passwords to trust-in-motion,  laying the groundwork for secure credit, onboarding, and KYC experiences.
• Building a Full-Stack, Regionalized Open Banking Core: Visa’s deepening bet on Tarabut suggests it wants more than payment pipes, it wants the data backbone of MENA. By plugging Tarabut’s API rail into Visa’s vast risk and analytics capabilities, the duo is poised to shape the credit infrastructure of the region. Think of it as Visa-as-a-Service layered with data intelligence, fueling SME lending, BNPL, and cross-border finance.

  The meta-trend? Open banking is entering a phase where scale is about locking in data feedback loops. These alliances hint at a future where financial data isn’t just shared,  it’s captured, enriched, and leveraged by a few central nodes. For fintechs building in this space, the competitive edge won’t just be access,  it will be differentiated intelligence and embedded infrastructure.