The Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan held an industry event on “Next targets and steps in open banking”, positioning it within its broader initiatives to expand the use of innovative financial technologies and develop the country’s digital banking ecosystem. The session focused on progress made in open banking and the priorities ahead. Fidan Tofidi, Director of the Financial Technologies and Innovations Department, framed open banking as a core pillar of the sector’s digital transformation and linked the open banking platform to secure data exchange between banks and fintech firms, the development of innovative financial services, and stronger competition. Central bank representatives shared an overview of initiatives already undertaken and discussed new challenges, opportunities and prospects for open banking, while International Finance Corporation Azerbaijan Country Manager Aliya Azimova presented international practices and recent developments; participants then worked in teams on product ideas and use cases with expert support.