The Bank of Namibia (BoN) plans to test a new system in 2027 that could allow banks to assess loan applications using customers’ financial transaction histories, potentially improving access to credit for individuals and businesses with limited or no formal borrowing records.
Bank of Namibia Deputy Governor Leonie Dunn said the initiative, which forms part of the country’s open banking framework, would enable lenders to access a broader range of financial information, including digital payment records, to assess borrowers’ ability to repay loans.
Speaking at a conference on credit information sharing and risk reporting, Dunn said the system could help individuals and small businesses that struggle to obtain financing because they lack conventional credit histories.
Under the proposed framework, a small business that regularly receives payments from customers but has never obtained a formal loan could authorise a financial institution to access its transaction records when applying for credit.
This would allow lenders to assess the business’s cash flow and financial activity rather than relying solely on previous borrowing records, potentially improving its chances of securing financing.
Dunn said the central bank wanted to enable access to financial information in near real time to support more informed lending decisions.
“Following the Bank of Namibia’s October 2022 position paper on the possibility of open banking, Namibia’s open banking standards were published in March 2025. In January 2026, the Bank of Namibia issued guidance on their operationalisation. The bank has also started preparations for a pilot scheduled for 2027 to test the standards and inform the implementation approach. Our objective is to enable access to data in near real time, bringing the benefits of credit information sharing to people such as Maria,” she said.
The planned pilot follows the publication of Namibia’s open banking standards in March 2025 and operational guidance issued by the central bank in January 2026.
The Bank of Namibia first began exploring open banking in October 2022 through a position paper examining how financial institutions could securely share customer information with authorised third parties.
Dunn said improved access to financial transaction data could help lenders identify creditworthy customers who are currently excluded from traditional lending systems because they lack formal credit records.
However, she stressed that customers would need to retain control over their financial information, with safeguards to prevent unauthorised access and misuse of personal data.
“The bank is considering safeguards around informed and revocable consent, privacy, security, operational resilience and clear accountability for those who access and use data. Consent for somebody like Maria must be understandable in practice. She must know what information she is sharing, with whom she is sharing it, for what purpose, and for how long. This information includes her financial footprint across different institutions and the wider financial ecosystem,” she said.
Dunn also warned that the growing use of artificial intelligence and alternative financial data in credit assessments could introduce bias into lending decisions if not properly monitored.
She said independent validation and transparent decision-making would be necessary to ensure that automated credit assessments were fair and accountable.
The central bank said the objective of expanding credit information sharing was not simply to increase lending volumes but to improve responsible lending, strengthen household financial resilience and support business expansion and job creation.
The findings of the 2027 pilot will guide the implementation of open banking standards across Namibia’s financial sector, with customer consent, data security and consumer protection expected to remain central to the process.
