What is OpenWave?

OpenWave is an open standard that defines a unified API surface for payments and open banking, built specifically for the Libyan banking ecosystem and designed to extend across other emerging markets.

The Problem

Libya's banking sector has historically lacked interoperability:

• Customers are locked to their bank's app — paying someone at a different bank is painful or impossible
• Merchants must integrate with each bank separately — ten banks means ten integrations
• There is no shared payment identity layer — you need someone's full IBAN to send them money
• TPPs and fintechs cannot safely access account data — no open banking framework exists

The Solution

OpenWave solves this with three coordinated specifications:

Module	What it does
Payments API	Standard payment sessions, IBAN/NPT alias routing, recurring mandates, webhooks
Open Banking API	Consent-based account access (AISP) and payment initiation (PISP) for TPPs
Identity Registry	Global NPT handle ownership, multi-bank linking, public alias resolution

Who Runs a Gateway?

Any server that implements this specification is an OpenWave Gateway. A gateway:

• Routes payments between merchants and bank cores
• Manages session lifecycle and customer authentication
• Enforces Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
• Delivers webhook events to merchants
• Issues and validates NPT aliases

Neptune Fintech operates Astro, the reference implementation. Any bank or fintech can run their own compliant gateway.

Deployment Models

Centralised (shared gateway)

A single gateway connects multiple banks. Simplest model for a national payment network.

Merchant ──→ [ OpenWave Gateway ] ──→ Bank A
                                  └──→ Bank B
                                  └──→ Bank C

Federated (multiple gateways)

Each operator runs its own gateway. They interoperate because the protocol is the same.

Merchant A ──→ [ Gateway 1 ] ──┐
                                ├──→ [ Settlement Layer ]
Merchant B ──→ [ Gateway 2 ] ──┘

No single operator controls the network. The standard is the contract.

Status

Module	Version	Status
Payments	1.0.0	✅ Stable
Recurring Payments	1.0.0	✅ Stable
Alias (NPT)	1.0.0	✅ Stable
Webhooks	1.0.0	✅ Stable
Open Banking — AISP	1.0.0	✅ Stable
Open Banking — PISP	1.0.0	✅ Stable
Identity Registry	1.0.0	✅ Stable

Next Steps

• Core Concepts →
• NPT explained →
• Merchant integration guide →