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Important information for EEA participants in Open Banking

04 October 2019
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If you are an EEA participant in UK Open Banking, you need to have entered the FCA’s temporary permissions regime (TPR), to be able to continue to passport in to the UK if the UK leaves the EU without an implementation period.

If you do not notify the FCA before the deadline that you wish to enter the TPR you will automatically fall into the supervised run off regime (SRO) or the contractual run off regime (CRO).

Further information

All information about these regimes can be found in the FCA published Policy Statement PS19/5 setting out the rules that EEA firms will need to comply with. A link to the Policy Statement is below:

The FCA has also published a helpful diagram to assist you in determining which regime will be applicable to you and the steps you need to take: TPR Financial services contracts flow chart

A firm that does not apply for TPR will automatically fall into SRO if it has a branch in the UK. Once in SRO a firm will be able to run off its business within the relevant time scales. It will not be able to undertake new business. A firm that does not have a branch in the UK and provides cross border services will if it does not notify for TPR automatically fall into CRO. If you fall into CRO then you will be exempt from the PSRs and will no longer be able to participate in Open Banking.

If you wish to continue to participate in the Open Banking ecosystem following a hard Brexit it is imperative that you take action now. If you do not notify for TPR and you do not qualify for SRO (a branch in the UK) you will not be able to participate in Open Banking following a hard Brexit and will need to be removed from the OBIE Production Directory, however, you will still be able to participate in the Directory Sandbox.

What firms need to do

As an EEA firm, you will need to notify the FCA via the Connect System of your intention to apply under the TPR. Notifications will need to be submitted by the end of 30 October 2019.

Firms should also have regard to the following directions which amend the FCA’s earlier directions regarding submission of notifications.

The FCA has also published a guide to Connect for firms (PDF) covering the notification process.

There will be no fee for firms notifying the FCA that they wish to use the regime and firms should not wait for confirmation of whether there will be an implementation period before they submit their notification. Firms that have not submitted a notification will not be able to use the TPR and will be treated as being in SRO or CRO.

Consumer protection

Firms will be expected to comply with FCA requirements from Day 1 in order to maintain an adequate level of consumer protection. For more information please refer to the dedicated FCA page on the TPR.

How to apply

A TPR application can be made via the FCA Connect service. The User Guide link is below: https://www.openbanking.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/temporary-permission-notification-connect-guide-funds.pdf

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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.