The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has today issued Directions to five banks in respect of the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017. These Directions relate to delays in delivering certain aspects of the Open Banking programme, in particular with regard to mobile app functionality. Whilst it is recognised that four of the mandated banks have met the deadline, the Implementation Trustee of OBIE has recommended to the CMA that Directions are issued to those banks who have missed the agreed deadlines, and that enforcement processes are put in place. Commenting on the CMA Directions, Trustee of the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE, said: “While we are aware that the Open Banking programme has ambitious and challenging timescales, it is disappointing that some banks have needed more time to deliver some important new Open Banking functionality to their customers. “However, we are pleased to see that four of the mandated banks have delivered these changes either on or ahead of time – which means that their customers will start to reap the benefits of the enhanced functionality and features that have been introduced. “While it is still early days, overall it is clear that Open Banking is gaining momentum and traction, with innovative new products and services launching which will ultimately help customers move, manage and make more of their money.” A revised Implementation Delivery Plan, which takes into account the revised deadlines agreed with the banks, and details key implementation dates on an individual bank basis can be accessed here. – – – ENDS – – – 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 & 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.
There are four significant changes taking place in March in relation to the UK’s Open Banking project and PSD2, the European legislation aimed at increasing pan-European competition and participation in the payments industry. Adoption of the Open Banking Standard Firstly, the managed roll out of the latest version of the Open Banking Standard begins this month from the mandated 9 banks (CMA9). To be specific, this means that the CMA9 are now in the process of uplifting their production APIs to version 3.1 of the Read/Write API Specifications for both personal and business current accounts. This managed roll out is expected to take place over the next month, and will include the implementation of Mobile App authentication. The introduction of Mobile App authentication is expected to deliver a significant improvement to customer experience as well as accelerate customer adoption of both account information and payment initiation services. Importantly, this is also a significant step towards achieving full PSD2 implementation across the mandated banks and building societies. Introduction of eIDAS Certificates The Open Banking Directory (https://www.openbanking.org.uk/providers/directory/) has been further developed and upgraded and is now able to auto-enrol regulated entities via an API through the use of eIDAS certificates. Other enhancements include the introduction of APIs for all Directory services, which will facilitate automation for discovery, on-boarding and certificate/key management. Testing Facility Open to Third Parties All Account Providers in the UK and Europe who are applying to their Competent Authority for a ‘fallback exemption’ are required to make their API testing facility available to third parties. The regulatory requirements for these facilities (or “Sandboxes”) are explained in detail in the Operational Guidelines we have produced (https://www.openbanking.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Operational-Guidelines.pdf). This further supports the journey towards PSD2 compliance, enabling third parties to develop and test their propositions prior to launch across other account providers and for all PSD2 in-scope accounts. Managed Conversion and Launch Assistance Programme We have begun the roll out of our Managed Conversion and Launch Assistance (MCLA) programme. This is a managed service for all account providers and third parties enrolled with OBIE, designed to help facilitate testing, using either production APIs (i.e. live proving) and/or testing facilities (i.e. pre-live testing). This is a critical service which should speed up the growth of the ecosystem and deliver better outcomes for all Open Banking participants, and ultimately end customers. Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE, Trustee of the Open Banking Implementation Entity, said: “The initiatives outlined above will further accelerate the potential Open Banking has to revolutionise the way people move, manage and make more of their money. Whilst the changes outlined above are technical in nature, they are strategically significant in the importance they will play in ultimately providing people with great new products and services, supported by enhanced customer experience. There are some important features due to be launched in due course, including biometric authentication, which we believe will make Open Banking even easier for customers whilst equally as secure. However, not all the banks are able to move at the same pace in launching these features and consequently I am now in discussions with the CMA regarding the appropriate action to take against those banks who will miss agreed delivery dates as detailed on the Roadmap.” “However, as we enter the final six months of our delivery programme, we remain excited by the growth and maturity we see emerging across the global ecosystem and the commitment shown by the diverse players who are working powerfully together to fully optimise this transformative opportunity.” – – – ENDS – – – 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.
The Implementation Trustee of the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) has issued Trustee Directions under Article 11.6 and Schedule 1 of the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017 to Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank and HSBC Group* (HSBCG). These Directions come into force with effect from 20th December 2018 and will continue to be in force until such time they are varied or revoked by the Implementation Trustee under the Order. Commenting on the Directions, Implementation Trustee Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE said: “Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank and HSBC have each confirmed that they are facing up to a six month delay in providing customers with the benefits of App to App Redirection for Payment Initiation Services (PIS) functionality. This functionality is due in release 3 and therefore this delay represents a failure to comply with the CMA Order. “The majority of release 3 functionality will be in place by these banks at the required time, however the delay in App to App redirection (PIS) is disappointing and is likely to slow down the rate of Open Banking adoption. Any further slippage or failure to comply will have further repercussions and result in further Directions.” View the Directions on the Open Banking website. View the full list of Directions issued by the CMA under the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order (CMA website) * HSBCG includes HSBC Retail Bank, First Direct and M&S Bank for the purposes of this announcement – – – ENDS – – – 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.
The Open Banking Implementation Entity (the ‘OBIE’), the body created by the UK’s largest personal and small business current account providers to create a better way to move, manage and make more of your money, has confirmed that the roll out of Open Banking in the UK has begun Over the course of the next six weeks the OBIE will bring the UK’s largest account providers and regulated third parties online and fully test the system using selected testing accounts only. This will enable all parties to be absolutely certain that the system is stable, fully secure and ready for UK consumers and small businesses. Imran Gulamhuseinwala, Trustee of the OBIE, said: “This is a major step towards giving the customer real ownership and control of their finances and data. From 13 January, regulated companies can start integrating with Open Banking and testing their products. Then, from March 2018, consumers and small businesses across the UK can start to make the most of a dynamic new range of financial services. “The UK is the first nation in the world to launch Open Banking and many other countries are looking to our example. We should be immensely proud to be leading the revolution in retail and business banking because it means that UK customers will have more choice about how they manage and move their money.” The OBIE was created by the UK’s nine largest personal and small business current account providers (the ‘CMA9’) in 2016, after an inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority (the ‘CMA’) determined that Open Banking could bring new competition and innovation to an industry it felt needed shaking up. Open Banking is a secure set of technologies and standards that allow customers to give companies other than their bank or building society permission to securely access their accounts. This means customers can, if they choose, easily use services from a range of different types of regulated companies without the need to share credentials with any third parties. They may, for example, choose to aggregate a view of all of their accounts through one provider or allow a company to analyse their account data to offer automated budgeting advice or cheaper overdrafts. Companies using Open Banking to deliver their services have to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or an equivalent European Regulator. The FCA will start publishing the names of approved companies on its Register from 13 January 2018. Open Banking runs on a well-established communications technology called Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and is designed with customer security foremost in mind. Adam Land, Senior Director at the CMA, said: “This is a major milestone. These reforms will transform retail banking, completely changing the way that people interact with their accounts. “Open Banking will allow you to take control of your own data and use it to find the best deals, help you switch and manage your money securely and more effectively. The possibilities are endless.” 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.
“This represents the next step in the transformation and opening up of the UK banking industry to the benefit of consumers and businesses.” Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE, Trustee, Open Banking Open Banking, the implementation entity set up by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) to enable a new, secure way for customers to take control of their financial data and share it with organisations other than their banks, is pleased to announce the release of its Accounts and Transaction Information and Payments Initiation API Specifications. Open Banking has developed specifications that determine how banks and building societies should enable other regulated companies to, with the customer’s express permission, access accounts and send payments. Using these standardised API specifications, banks and authorised third parties are now able to begin developing new, innovative propositions and to tailor their products and solutions to the individual needs of consumers and businesses. These specifications are now available on www.openbanking.org.uk. The payments initiation API will enable third parties to set up secure payments on behalf of customers and, once authorised by the customer, submit the payment for processing. The specification currently caters for the submission of a single, immediate, domestic payment from UK personal and business current accounts and is payment scheme agnostic, meaning that processing can take place via any payment system operator. Imran Gulamhuseinwala, Trustee of the Open Banking Implementation Entity, said: “This is the next step in the transformation and opening up of the banking industry to the benefit of consumers and businesses. In March, we delivered on the first of the CMA Remedies with version 1 of the branch, ATM and product data APIs from the nine largest business and personal current account providers in the UK. “The specifications we are releasing today, which will be live from January next year, provide the platform for developers from banks, fintechs and other organisations to build new web and mobile applications that will deliver a safer, more personalised and easier banking experience for consumers wishing to search, select and switch financial products in a secure environment. “We are on track with our plans to develop a world leading open banking service where consumers will be able to significantly benefit from moving, managing and making more of their money.” 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.
The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has, today, announced that Imran Gulamhuseinwala will become the new trustee for the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE). Mr Gulamhuseinwala, who was awarded an OBE this year’s Honours List, is a London-based partner in EY’s financial services practice and its Global Head of Fintechs. He has been involved with the OBIE’s work through its stakeholder working groups and has been active in financial technology as both an investor and a start-up founder. He succeeds Andrew Pinder CBE, who has passed away following a short illness. Keith Ford, CEO of the OBIE, said : “We were immensely saddened, personally and professionally, to lose Andrew and profoundly grateful to have had the benefit of his experience and drive through the complex process of creating the OBIE and delivering the first of the CMA’s remedies. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. “As I am sure Andrew would agree, Imran is a fine choice for Trustee. He is closely involved in the development of financial technology here in the UK and around the world and has a detailed understanding of the considerable challenge before the OBIE.” At the direction of the CMA, the UK’s nine largest providers of bank accounts to personal and small and medium-sized enterprise (‘SME’) customers (collectively, the ‘CMA9’) were required to set up and fund the IE. The Trustee is nominated by the CMA and responsible to the CMA9. He oversees the OBIE and ensures that it is operating properly, effectively fulfilling the CMA remedies to schedule. The CMA’s announcement of Mr Gulamhuseinwala’s appointment can be read <here>. The IE was created in 2016 to fulfil some of the remedies the CMA set out following an investigation into UK retail banking. The full result of that inquiry can be found in the report ‘Retail Banking Market Investigation’ which was published on 9 August 2016 but, simply put, it required that the UK’s largest banks give the customer the ability to securely share their financial data with other companies. This will make engaging with the full range of financial services far easier for customers: from product comparison to effortlessly getting highly personalised advice, Open Banking is designed to give the customer real power. It is created by a set of technologies and standards that the OBIE is charged with building and launching in January 2018. These will form the basis for the future development of retail financial services in the UK, opening the market up to new entrants and driving competition amongst incumbents. 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.
Andrew Pinder CBE appointed as Implementation Trustee to ensure delivery of CMA’s Open Banking API standard The creation of a revolutionary new way to access financial services is underway, following the appointment of an Implementation Trustee to lead delivery of the open banking API standard. Andrew Pinder CBE has been appointed as Implementation Trustee to oversee the delivery of an industry-wide project to deliver a new secure option for customers to be able to compare the deal they are getting from their banking. The Implementation Trustee is leading the work with responsibility to deliver the ‘open API standard for banking’ set out in the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) retail banking market investigation1. Andrew has a long and distinguished career in both the private and public sectors, with senior level roles in financial and IT organisations. He is regarded as a global thought-leader in the development of the knowledge economy due to high-profile roles such as leading the Office of the e-Envoy from 2000 to 2005, reporting directly to the Prime Minister. Andrew is currently also Chairman of Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited (DMSL) and Non-Executive Director at Nominet, the registry for UK domain names. Andrew Pinder, Implementation Trustee, said: “We are fortunate in this country to have a thriving financial services sector, encompassing well-established brands with illustrious histories, through to nimble FinTechs with the potential to shake things up. “Open Banking has the potential to harness technology to deliver a win-win by enabling providers of all shapes and sizes to create dramatically improved products that are more competitive, intuitive, personalised, convenient and integrated. I am greatly looking forward to leading the work that can make this happen.” Bill Roberts, Assistant Director, Remedies, Business and Financial Analysis at the CMA, said: “Open Banking is at the core of the CMA’s recommendations for transforming retail banking. Implementing an open API standard will ensure that banking services are tailored to personal and business account customers’ specific needs. “This will be a challenging project, which will be crucial to successfully reforming the retail banking industry. We are therefore delighted that Andrew Pinder, with his enormous expertise in delivering major projects for Government and regulators, will be in charge of driving the process forward.” An API (Application Programming Interface) is a way for electronic information held in one place to be shared in a controlled and highly secure way: it enables third parties that meet security and service standards to access data and use it to offer services and products. In the retail banking market, a new API standard could transform competition by giving customers more control over their finances, making it easier to access and compare product and service information from different providers. The CMA has required that an implementation entity be set up and funded by the nine banks in the UK with the largest market share (RBS Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC Group, Nationwide, Santander, Danske, Bank of Ireland and AIB Group). They have been required by the CMA to deliver the first stage of the project by the end of March 2017, covering publicly available data such as branch opening hours and ATM locations, and information relating to prices, charges and eligibility criteria for loans and personal and business current accounts. Other interested providers will be able to participate in the service and offer it under the same terms as the nine named banks. The second deliverable is the sharing, with customer consent, of customers’ transactional data by January 2018. The implementation entity is seeking expertise and insight from stakeholders including consumer and SME (small and medium enterprise) representative groups, other payment service providers, the FinTech sector and others, through advisory groups. Early work-streams for the new entity will include work on both data and security, with regular updates on the progress of the work planned to be published on the implementation entity’s website.2 For further information, please contact: press@openbanking.org.uk Notes to Editors 1) The CMA’s Retail Banking Market Investigation: Final Report is available here: 2) A new website for the implementation entity will be launched soon. An interim website is hosted by the Implementation Entity Steering Group secretariat here. For more information on the Open Banking Standard, visit here: About Andrew Pinder CBE Andrew took up the role as Implementation Trustee on Monday 3 October 2016. Andrew is also the Chairman of Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited (DMSL), the company set up by the UK mobile network operators to ensure that after the launch of new 4G mobile services any potential interference with Digital TV broadcasts is promptly remedied, and Market Operator Services Ltd. (MOSL), an organisation working with DEFRA, Ofwat and the water companies as part of the Open Water Programme. Andrew is a Non-Executive Director at Nominet, the registry for UK domain names, and at Silent Circle (makers of Blackphone, a heavily encrypted smart phone). Andrew has a long and distinguished career in both the private and public sectors. After 18 years in the Inland Revenue, where he became Board Director of IT, Andrew moved to the private sector, with senior roles at Prudential Corporation and Citibank Investment Bank. In 2000 Andrew was appointed as e-Envoy by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Andrew was directly responsible to the Prime Minister for bringing together the development of the knowledge economy in the UK, co-ordinating the Government’s e-strategy and leading the UK Government’s whole IT agenda. Following the completion of that role in 2005, he has acted as an advisor to many other Governments around the world. Andrew was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in HM the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for services to the Cabinet Office. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. About the implementation entity The implementation entity is the delivery body for an open banking service in the UK. An open banking service, made up of API standards and frameworks, has the potential to dramatically improve competition and innovation in UK banking – benefiting individuals and businesses. The governance, composition and budget of the implementation entity has been agreed by the Competition and Markets Authority, to deliver one of the remedies set out in their retail banking investigation. It is led by an independent Implementation Trustee, with decisions taken by the Implementation Entity Steering Group (IESG), which they chair. In support of wide stakeholder engagement and input, there will be an open sharing of outputs during the development of the standards via the implementation entity advisory group and website.