Atom Bank CEO joins open banking initiative as challenger bank representative

Mark Mullen, CEO of Atom bank, has agreed to become the Challenger Bank representative to the Open Banking Implementation Entity (the ‘IE’), the organisation set up by the Competition & Markets Authority to create the standards that will enable UK customers to make the most of their financial data.

In this role, Mark will serve as the voice of the UK’s vibrant challenger bank sector. He will convene panels of his peers to gather their opinions and discuss the challenges, technical and procedural, that the IE is tasked with meeting.

Imran Gulamhuseinwala, Trustee of the IE, said:

“It’s extraordinarily exciting to have Mark on board. Atom has been one of the most dynamic players in UK retail banking and his experience and passion will be vital to the task of giving customers real control over their money.

“The IE must ensure that the standards we set enhance the opportunities for companies like Atom and the customers they serve. Mark is the perfect person to make sure we hear the voice of the challenger sector loud and clear.”

Mark has led Atom since 2014. Prior to that, he enjoyed a long and successful career at HSBC, which included leading the First Direct business.

Open Banking allows customers to give companies other than their banks access to their personal or business current accounts. Those companies can read a customers’ financial data and make payments from their accounts.

It gives customers real control of their financial data and allows them to select services from a wide range of companies without disrupting their existing banking arrangements.

Open Banking will enhance comparison services, automate financial advice and create an array of innovative, constantly evolving services.

It is dependent on a type of software called an Application Programming Interface that determines how a company should communicate with a bank, and vice versa, as well as setting tight security standards. The IE is creating the specifications which will determine how Open Banking APIs are coded and a set of guidelines for companies offering Open Banking services.

For further information, please contact:

press@openbanking.org.uk

About Us

Open Banking is a new, secure way for customers to take control of their financial data and share it with organisations other than their banks. Open Banking has the power to revolutionise the way we move, manage and make more of our money. For businesses, it is about making the management of cashflow and receiving payments cheaper and easier. Open Banking will make things simpler, faster and more convenient.

Open Banking follows the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into the supply of personal current accounts (PCAs) and of banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Open Banking was created to enable innovation, transparency and competition in UK financial services. It is tasked with delivering the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), data structures and security architectures that will enable developers to harness technology, making it easy and safe for individuals and SMEs to share the financial information held by their banks with third parties.

Open Banking will bring substantial benefits. It gives customers and SMEs greater market choice and greater control over their money and associated data, along with better and easier access to new financial services providers in a secure environment.

Notes to Editors:

1. Open Banking Ltd was set up by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) in September 2016 to fulfil one of the remedies mandated by the CMA following an investigation into UK retail banking.

2. The CMA’s investigation into the retail banking market (whose findings were published in August 2016) concluded that older and larger banks do not compete hard enough for customers’ business and that Open Banking should deliver a new, secure option for customers to be able to compare the deal they are getting from their bank.

3. Open Banking was created to enable innovation, transparency and competition to UK financial services. It is tasked with delivering the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), data structures and security architectures that will make it easy and safe for customers to share their financial records by January 2018.

4. The data provided by Open Banking will enable developers to harness technology that allows individuals and businesses to share their financial records held by their banks with third parties.

5. Open Banking is a private body; its governance, composition and budget was determined by the CMA. It is funded by the UK’s nine largest current account providers and overseen by the CMA, the Financial Conduct Authority and Her Majesty’s Treasury.

6. The 9 mandated institutions (referred to as the CMA9) are: Barclays plc, Lloyds Banking Group plc, Santander, Danske, HSBC, RBS, Bank of Ireland, Nationwide and AIBG.