One of the biggest obstacles to building a fintech startup in emerging markets is an inherent dependency on existing infrastructure and incumbent friendly regulators

If you can’t access existing data (e.g. account information, balances), payment networks (card, SWIFT, local transfer & settlement), or services (BIN sponsors, IBANs), you’re dead in the water until you find a workaround, cut a deal, or have a non-dependent model

A senior MENA banking insider commenting recently on a “hot” startup, stated that whilst banks don’t want to be seen to be fintech unfriendly, a number are looking to block access to the startup’s open banking APIs using “IT security” as a pretext

Whilst the startup has quickly expanded into multiple geographies they’re likely to find themselves in the cold in their core market — in the midst of a fundraise

Rather than embrace that which traditional institutions have promised and subsequently struggled to bring to market for years, the reaction is a jealous “not on my watch” innovation crushing spew

The imperative is to move past the “fintech friendly” PR bluster towards an ecosystem of competitive inclusion - where startups who build on top, and consumers who are finally getting access to wallets and interesting tools, don’t continue to lose out