The CEO of one of the UK’s most promising FinTechs has called on the government to capitalise on the nation’s open banking foundations.
Late last week regulator the Competition and Markets Authority said the six largest banking providers in the UK have implemented fully standards on its roadmap for delivering open banking.
Open banking was launched in 2017 as part of a package of improvements following the CMA’s market investigation into retail banking. It ordered the UK’s nine largest retail banking providers to open up customer data using secure data protocols.
To deliver this outcome, banking providers were required to establish an independent Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), currently overseen and chaired by Charlotte Crosswell OBE. A roadmap was put in place that set out the specific requirements on the nine banking providers.
The CMA said Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander have now implemented all the requirements of the roadmap. However Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland and Danske are yet to fully implement the requirements.
“To support the OBIE in this, the CMA will consider enforcement action as appropriate to ensure this happens in a timely way,” it stated.
Open banking now has over six million active users in the UK.
“It’s great that the six largest banking providers have fully implemented the open banking standards required of them, but it of course means that it is incomplete for customers of Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland and Danske. It’s very welcome that the CMA are now willing to consider enforcement action to get them over the line,” said John Natalizia, CEO and co-founder at money management and budgeting app Snoop.
“In addition to the ‘CMA 6’, Snoop customers want Co-op bank and Metro Bank to pull up their socks, binning their modified customer interfaces and offer secure open banking APIs; Chase UK to get on board; and TSB to provide a more stable ongoing service.
“Now the foundations for open banking to flourish are just about in place, the time has come to turn six million users into 30 million.
“I’d love to see the government build on their recent £18m ‘It All Adds Up’ energy saving campaign’ to raise awareness of open banking and ensure millions more people are aware of the tech and tools available to help them manage through the cost-of-living crisis.
“The benefits to consumers, households and the UK economy are huge.”
Snoop was second on our FinTech 50 ranking late last year.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said open banking is “transforming the way millions of people manage their money”.
“[This new] update is an important milestone,” she said. “Open banking moves into a new phase.
“We will continue to ensure the standard is maintained and that providers are held to their obligations under the CMA’s Order, including making sure those remaining banks reach the same data sharing standard.”
Travers Clarke-Walker, chief marketing officer at core banking software provider Thought Machine – another of our FinTech 50 firms – also hailed the milestone.
“This milestone signals that banking customers are driving enhanced financial services experiences and change in the industry,” he said.
“We believe this trend will continue. Customer expectations are constantly increasing; they want better control of their money, better experiences, and new ways to manage their financial lives.
“Modern, cloud-native technology is the necessary foundation for these new services. We are proud to be working with leading banks in the UK, and across the world, to drive change in the industry.”