Farzad Didehbaz

Work experience

• CEO — Hamfekran Fanavari Sharif (2022 – present)

Farzad Didehbaz's blog → (27 posts)

Office automation: from paper correspondence to intelligent digital workflowsOffice automation redesigns how work flows so decisions are faster, more transparent and traceable.Fintech revenue models: how financial technology companies make moneyGrowth without a sustainable revenue model fails; understanding common models matters for investors, partner banks and founders.Digital customer onboarding (eKYC): opening accounts without visiting a branchRemote identity verification is the gateway to digital banking; the challenge is balancing convenience with fraud resistance.Payment orchestration: smart multi-gateway managementOnline businesses use several gateways; orchestration makes this multiplicity smart and unified.Core banking modernisation: a bank’s biggest technology decisionCore banking is the heart of operations; modernising is risky but unavoidable, and gradual approaches improve success.Digital financial inclusion: bringing finance to everyoneTechnology can reach remote and underserved groups — if designed inclusively.RegTech: technology for regulatory complianceFinancial regulation keeps growing; compliance technology cuts cost and error.Regulatory sandboxes: bridging fintech innovation and regulationSandboxes let innovators test products at limited scale under supervision before full rules exist.Neobanks: branchless, user-centred bankingNeobanks redefine banking through apps without branches, pushing incumbents to transform.Crowdfunding: a new tool for investing in startupsCrowdfunding platforms let the public invest small sums in businesses under capital-market supervision.Third-party payment initiation: the next phase of open bankingAdvanced open banking lets licensed third parties initiate payments directly from customer accounts with consent.API gateways and management: the hidden infrastructure of digital bankingEvery digital bank service is exposed via APIs; central management ensures security, stability and scale.Microservice architecture in banking systems: agility, scalability and resilienceMoving from legacy monoliths to microservices lets banks ship services faster and scale components independently.Credit-risk management with machine learning: more accuracy, faster decisionsML models estimate default probability more accurately by capturing complex patterns — provided they are transparent and continuously monitored.Consent management in open banking: trust, transparency and data controlIn open banking, data belongs to the customer. A transparent, revocable consent mechanism is the foundation of trust.Banks and fintechs: competition or synergy?Banks bring trust, licences and capital; fintechs bring speed and UX. Done right, partnership wins for all.Supply chain finance: funding small suppliers with a large buyer’s creditSmall suppliers wait months to be paid. Supply chain finance bridges the gap using the buyer’s credit.Banking as a Service: when non-banks offer financial servicesWith BaaS, a retailer or app can offer wallets and payments while the bank provides the infrastructure.Digital transformation in banks: why big projects failDigital transformation is about process and culture more than technology. Small, measurable steps raise the odds of success.Alternative-data credit scoring: lending to the credit-invisibleMany people have no formal credit history. Alternative data can better reflect repayment capacity.Standard banking APIs: why interface consistency is key to open bankingWhen every bank has its own API, integration costs multiply for fintechs. Standardisation shortens the path.Open banking in Iran: bank APIs and the need for a common standardSeveral Iranian banks offer API platforms, but a common standard and consent framework are still missing.Open Finance in Brazil: From Open Banking to Insurance and InvestmentsBrazil’s central bank rolled out open banking in phases from 2021 and expanded it into open finance covering insurance, investments and payments.India’s Account Aggregator Framework: Consent-Based Data Sharing Without Seeing the DataIndia’s Account Aggregators enable sharing of financial data across banking, insurance and markets based on digital customer consent.UK Open Banking: A Model Born from a Competition OrderUK open banking began in January 2018 when nine large banks were required to offer standard APIs, and has since grown into recurring payments and new services.From Open Banking to Open Finance: The EU PackageIn June 2023 the European Commission proposed updating payment rules and extending data sharing across financial services.Open Banking: Secure, Customer-Permissioned Data SharingHow the Basel Committee defines open banking, its benefits and risks, and how different countries have implemented it.

HFS team