Event summary: Accelerating open banking and smart data

17 July 2025

Open Banking Limited co-hosted a panel discussion with Innovate Finance and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Open Banking and Payments at Parliament. With the recent passage of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 into law, and the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech that day, the timing was perfect to shine a light on the next steps needed to move open banking into open finance and smart data at pace.   

The panellists:

  • David Burton Sampson MP (Chair, Open Banking and Payments APPG)
  • Marion King (Chair and Trustee of Open Banking Limited)
  • Andrew Self (Head of Department for Open Banking and Finance, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA))
  • Janine Hirt (CEO, Innovate Finance)
  • Sarah Adcock (Director for Consumer and Competition Policy, Department for Business and Trade)

Key action points

  • The FCA is to publish the Open Finance Roadmap by March 2026.
  • DBT will release a Smart Data Strategy in the autumn, aiming to deliver 20+ schemes by 2035.
  • The FCA stated that a Future Entity will be established to lead open banking (and potentially open finance) standards development under the Long Term Regulatory Framework.
  • The Government committed to encouraging and enabling smart data schemes wherever they will benefit citizens, small businesses and wider economy.
  • Fintechs and regulators to collaborate on high-priority use cases and data sets.

Introduction and strategic context

David Burton-Sampson MP and Marion King set the scene, highlighting the significance of the Data (Use and and Access) Act passing into law, signalling a pivotal point for open banking to shift from ambition to delivery, and evolve open banking and open finance.

They acknowledged a shared desire to turn the vision into real outcomes that support economic growth, innovation, financial inclusion, as well as helping to prevent fraud.

Marion also shared the latest adoption data from June 2025, revealing that open banking is now used by 14.2 million active users, showing 14% growth.

Building on that growth, Janine emphasised the UK’s ambition to become a global leader in fintech, calling for collaboration with regulators, common standards, and mandated data sharing to unlock growth. She pointed out that the fintech sector is worth £328 billion to the UK economy.

Regulatory developments and the role of government

Marion emphasised the importance of delivering on the Government’s ambition to move to a Long-Term Regulatory Framework for open banking. Part of this scheme would include standards, contracts, and pricing frameworks which allow for adaptability, appropriate governance, and fair participation.

She noted, as part of this, the importance of the accompanying secondary legislation and the establishment of a central, neutral future entity to oversee open banking and open finance.

Andrew explained the importance of “resetting and restarting the FCA’s work”, saying it will publish its Open Finance Roadmap by March 2026. This will include a Smart Data Accelerator to identify issues and shape use cases – SME finance is a priority – and ensuring smart data is implemented in line with the National Payments Vision (NPV).

He also recognised the need for consumer protection, dynamic engagement with the market, and collaboration across regulators.

Sarah acknowledged the importance of the Government’s role in facilitating the delivery of smart data with clear legislation, frameworks, and infrastructure – not to control.

She added that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is working on a cross-economy smart data strategy, with an ambitious plan to launch at least 20 government-led smart data schemes by 2035.

This is backed by a £36 million investment from the Industrial Strategy to support common standards and interoperability.

What’s needed to deliver

Key enablers:

  • Delivery timelines must be accelerated, and sector-specific schemes need to be up and running quickly.
  • Interoperability is vital for both public and private sector schemes and there needs to be an “economy-wide trust framework”.
  • Mandated data sharing is essentialto ensure fairness and wide participation.

Marion and Janine called for cohesion, a neutral approach, and trust-building from all the relevant institutions, urging regulators and the government to create an enabling environment, not act as gatekeepers.

Smart data use cases and wider impact

There are many opportunities for smart data to deliver products and services that support the financially vulnerable, as well as play a key role in digital identity, fraud detection and tackling financial crime.

A well-regulated framework will support this innovation while protecting consumers. MPs and APPGs have a crucial role to play in facilitating dialogue and supporting the next legislative push.

Next steps

The mood was one of optimism, with Government, industry and regulators poised to deliver. One panellist called for “quick and dirty” pilots to plug into the current momentum and unlock further buy-in.

And while further work is needed on the exact detail of how to enable this vision, all the panellists agreed that cohesion and collaboration are the answer.