Open banking is an enabling technology: for people and businesses across the UK, it’s what they can dowith the apps and services it empowers that matters. Take a look at the different types of use cases open banking can enable – and visit our App Store today to start your open banking journey.

Open Banking does not endorse the products, services or statements featured in these videos. For further information see our website terms and conditions.

Affordability checks using accurate data – no more filling a shoebox with statements.

Rental recognition – ensuring that monthly payments contribute to credit scores.

Cheaper rates when paying abroad – making every penny count

Income streaming – replacing financial uncertainty with predictable earnings.

Income streaming – replacing financial uncertainty with predictable earnings.

Better outcomes with open banking

Open banking is enabling new ways of managing your money: financial products and services that deliver better outcomes.

They bring clarity and control into managing your finances. They produce credit scores calculated using rich, accurate and up-to-date information. They help safeguard the financially vulnerable.

Open banking exists to deliver better financial outcomes for you. With data shared securely, and only ever with your consent.

Our Consumer Forum event on 8th October will explore the impact of open banking on responsible lending, creating flexible, responsive services, and helping to manage the impact of Covid 19.

Open Banking does not endorse the products, services or statements featured on this page. For further information see our website terms and conditions.

Consumer lending with open banking: much more than taking credit

Faith Reynolds, Independent Consumer Representative to the OBIE, shares her thoughts on the potential of open banking to transform consumer lending – and how to accelerate it.

Click here to register for the 1 hour webinar on this topic.

From a consumer’s perspective, applying for a loan can be fraught with anxiety, confusing, and complicated. Sometimes the reason for the loan itself drives worry and this can be exacerbated by the risk of rejection or just being ripped off. The process can be alienating: a dense marketplace full of jargon and %APRs, long applications and salesmen demanding to know your budget. It can be hard to know exactly when the money will arrive, what the repayments will be and what the overall impact of taking out the loan might be down the line. And who knows how you’ll be treated if a product you bought on credit fails or you fall behind on repayments.

So how can open banking help? At the next OBIE Consumer Forum on 8th October at 1pm, II’ll be joined by an expert panel to discuss how open banking is re-shaping the credit market. We’ll be hearing from Fair For You, HSBC, Equifax and Portify about open banking’s potential to increase access to affordable credit, avoid unhelpful friction, manage borrowing effectively, and defend against poor outcomes. And, if open banking is a good thing for Consumers – how can the market help build trustworthy open banking-enabled products that are worthy of consumer adoption?

Open banking is already being used in different ways by lenders. Our panel will be talking us through its impact on responsible lending, creating flexible, responsive services, and helping to manage the impact of Covid 19.

Supporting responsible lending
Improving the accuracy of affordability checks, based on data beyond just credit scores, is in-market already. How effective is open banking data in affordability checks? What are the opportunities of drawing directly from the open banking data well – rather than supplementing consumer provided data, bank statements or bureau data?

Creating flexible, responsive services
How can open banking support faster decisioning? What tools are there, or could there be, to support lenders so they can be proactive in identifying vulnerability or pre-emptively engaging with consumers to work through difficulties collaboratively? And what are the drawbacks – is this too much like ‘big brother’ in action?

Managing the impact of Covid
How can open banking support consumers stay on top of their repayments, seek out breathing space or access payment holidays when they need it? What does open banking mean within the context of loan consolidation? If consumers do end up falling behind on repayments, how can open banking support them in catching up?

Open banking is already impacting customer journeys and user experience – is now the time to bring that innovation into the heart of credit in the UK, for both lenders and borrowers? From 1pm on the 8th October, we’ll be discussing what works well today, what doesn’t, where are the challenges, and what opportunities are out there for open banking to deliver genuine value for consumers.

We hope you can join us.

The numbers of end users – individuals and small businesses – using open banking-enabled applications and services has grown to over two million. Below we examine what that means, the journey so far, how open banking has and will continue to impact those end users, and what the future’s continued growth looks like.

But what does that mean for you?

Our Implementation Trustee, Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE, shares his thoughts on the real-world impact of open banking – and why it’s a good thing that two million people and small businesses are using apps and services enabled by open banking.

Where has the 2M come from?

David Beardmore, our Ecosystem Development Director, takes a look back at the origin of open banking in the UK, what it set out to achieve, and how a group of innovative companies came together to develop apps and products that use open banking to deliver better financial outcomes for their users.

Can you trust open banking apps?

Bronwyn Boyle, our Head of Security and Assurance, explains how the security of users’ financial data has been at the heart of open banking in the UK since day one – and how the use of trusted, established technology means that you can trust apps and services that use our open banking standards.

Where will open banking go next?

OBIE’s Head of Ecosystem Engagement, Simon Lyons, walks through some of the exciting new developments happening in the world of open banking – including its adoption by the UK government and new industries – without any compromise on data security or peace of mind.

Time to start your open banking journey?

Over two million people and small businesses are using open banking-enabled applications across the UK. Isn’t it time you harnessed the potential of your own financial data? Click the banner below to visit the OBIE’s app store today.

OBIE hosted a one-hour webinar examining the opportunities of open banking in supporting the UK’s SME community – helping to address the economic impact of Covid-19.

Open Banking does not endorse the products, services or statements featured on this page. For further information see our website terms and conditions.

Replay this panel discussion to hear UK small businesses’ view of open banking, how to communicate its benefits, and why open banking providers need to become “Champions” for SMEs. Featuring:

• Mark Chidley, Independent SME Representative to the OBIE (moderator)
• Fliss Berridge, Co-founder, Ordo
• David Carr, CFO & Head of Product, Clear Books
• Zitah McMillan, Co-founder & CEO, Predictive Black
• Andrew Gillespie, Co-founder, LEAR

Key points from September’s SME Forum

At September’s SME Forum, I was joined by a panel of fintechs and business leaders who were reporting back from the ‘frontlines’ of their work with the UK’s small business community.

Our panellists included Zitah McMillan, CEO and Co-Founder of Predictive Black; Fliss Berridge, Director & Co-founder, Ordo; and David Carr, CFO and Head of Product, Clear Books. Each firm draws on the “magic dust” of open banking to transform the day-to-day financial requirements of businesses.

We also welcomed Andrew Gillespie, Co-founder of Lear Fitness. With a background in banking and current experience as a business owner Andrew did an excellent job of keeping our panel resolutely focussed on the needs of the small business.

In what was a lively session, we focused on three key areas:

1. What’s the value? Tell me what’s in it for me.
2. The obstacles to wider open banking adoption. How can we break down barriers – real and perceived?
3. Seizing the opportunity. What does the future look like?

What’s the value?

How much do small business owners know – and need to know – about open banking? For Andrew, open banking providers had to improve their ability to articulate the real business benefits of their offerings rather than merely listing features.

We have spoken about ‘techno-babble’ in previous events – and the need for simple, benefits-based language was highlighted again and again.  Zitah explained that she often finds herself explaining open banking to customers, and reinforced how important it is to articulate the insight, clarity and control that business owners could acquire through open banking-enabled services.

Rounding off this point, Andrew reminded us that many small business owners will instinctively turn to their accountants for advice – and that any comms or language had to overcome concerns about introducing complexity, and therefore cost, into a business.

What are the obstacles to wider open banking adoption?

We heard that SMEs can be sceptical of the security pedigree of small fintechs compared with ‘familiar’ high street banks – who themselves have suffered breaches.

This resonated with Fliss, who said that both elements of ‘FinTech’ – finance and technology – can cause unease. The remedy, for her, was to reinforce the FCA’s strict regulation of our sector. “It’s open banking, but that doesn’t mean just anyone can take part.”

In response, Andrew reminded the panel that, if they could clearly demonstrate open banking’s security and value-add business benefits, they would position themselves as champions of small businesses. This – combined with reminders that they are small businesses themselves – could be an effective tactic to build trust in new markets.

What does the future look like?

While reliable crystal balls seem to be in constant short supply, nevertheless we asked our panel their views on what excited them about the future of open banking.

Fliss explained that the evolution and launch of Variable Recurring Payments provided tremendous opportunity to rethink and replace Direct Debits – improving choice and control for merchants in line with the government’s New Payments Architecture.

For Zitah, the business benefit lies in extracting more value from users’ data: the application of increasingly sophisticated AI and machine learning techniques to support forecasting and pre-emptive analysis.

David shared his thoughts on how open banking can bring accounting and banking much closer together. Paying payroll with a click – combined with straight-through submissions to HMRC via one screen. These powerful new experiences could help users manage their finances in a slicker, more secure way.

Join us next time…

I’d like to extend a warm thank you to our panellists and to those who attended the forum. As a team, we will be reconvening soon to engage in another think tank which will shape the next topic for discussion – payments.

We hope to see you for our next forum in December where the conversation will explore how open banking payments can make small businesses more resilient, productive and profitable. You can register your interest here.

Mark Chidley,

Independent SME Representative to the OBIE

Getting Real: Open banking from the frontline.

Ahead of what promises to be an insightful panel discussion on 23rd September, Mark Chidley (Independent SME Representative to the OBIE) shared his thoughts on the topic of discussion.

Don’t forget to reserve your place by registering today.

For many of us in the UK, September is a time of new beginnings, as summer comes to an end and we begin to lay the groundwork for the year ahead. The open banking world is no different, and we are looking forward to welcoming you to our next SME Forum event, at 12pm on Wednesday 23rd September . We’re delighted to be hearing from new faces from within our industry as well as small business owners. While Covid-19 continues to dominate headlines and debate, our panel will bring a fresh perspective and renewed focus on how open banking is supporting the UK’s SME community address the economic impact of Covid 19, including:

Demystifying the impact of Covid19 on SMEs

While we’ve all heard guesses and ‘expert opinions’ in the press, OBIE’s SME Forum is committed to bringing you real-world, evidenced insight from the ‘business end’ of the SME community. Each of our panel members have spent the year speaking directly to their small business customers and getting to understand the real-world situations small businesses across the country are facing. We’ll be asking them to share their experiences, as well as their thoughts on how open banking might help.

Gauging SMEs’ appetite for digital solutions

Our contributors will be reporting back from their discussions with SMEs, on their willingness to embrace new technologies at a time when there is so much else to worry about.

Building towards a common language

Many of us know that it can be difficult to make a case for open banking without resorting to acronyms, industry-babble and techno-jargon. We’ll be challenging our panel to solve that – or at least get us on the road towards a clearer picture – with their efforts judged by our SME representative.

Channeling advocacy to encourage adoption

Where should the big open banking conversations start? Does it need a top-down approach driven from Westminster, or a ground-swell of testimonial and word of mouth? What means more to the SME owner – and how can we encourage that potentially vital decision to adopt?

Taking tomorrow into the equation

With so much of our focus on the here and now, it can be easy to lose sight of the months and years ahead. But for SME owners, preparedness for tomorrow can be the difference between surviving and thriving. So – as economies continue to react and CBILS / BBLS money (eventually) run out – how can open banking offer small businesses opportunities to make real, lasting improvements in the way they do business?

These topics and more will be covered at our upcoming SME Forum – please register using the link below, and don’t hesitate to submit any questions in advance either to marketing@openbanking.org.uk or via any of our social media channels. We look forward to being ‘back in the classroom’ with you soon.

Mark Chidley,

Independent SME Representative to the OBIE

Building on a recent presentation at the Open Banking World Congress, OBIE’s Miles Cheetham discusses the options available to maximise consumer trust in open banking – a key consideration in any conversation around increasing end-user adoption.

Targeting Trust in open banking

In May 2020, OBIE’s Miles Cheetham and Nathan Kinch of Greater Than Experience presented at the Open Banking World Congress, on the topic of “Informed Consent; Meaningful Ethics; Achieving Trust.”

Here Miles Cheetham expands on that presentation, providing an insight into key considerations around consumer Trust in open banking, and a vision for the future.

Trust: the key to adoption

Consumer Trust is a critical factor in the success of open banking. Key to this is the way in which the consumer grants and manages consent to use their personal data. The potential of open banking – and by extension open finance and Smart Data Initiatives generally – relies on this crucial point.

Here at the Open Banking Implementation Entity, we have looked hard at the whole customer journey, breaking much new ground with the widely referenced Customer Experience Guidelines, particularly how Third Party Providers request consumer consent, and then enable that consent to be managed or revoked.

In mid-May, Nathan Kinch and I presented a case study at the Open Banking World Congress on the progress that has been made to date. Now, I’d like to share some of the insight we’ve gained, as well as our vision for the next stage of enabling consumers to place their Trust in open banking.

Solving for X-perience

Great things can happen when you set out to solve a genuine consumer problem. You know how it goes.

Set up a new app, click and move on…oh… a set of T&Cs…scroll to the bottom…click “I Agree”. And there you have it. Did you stop and read them? Probably not! Most of us never read the T&Cs.

We are all agreeing to things that we might question if we had the time, energy and (occasionally) the law degree required to read them. What is worse is that the ‘small print’ can obscure things that maybe we wouldn’t be so keen on. At worst, companies can shield themselves and a business model that customers simply have to accept if they want to get what’s on offer. To me, that’s not acceptable.

So back to Trust. A thriving, successful open banking-enabled ecosystem demands it – not least as empowered consumers are starting to understand the value of their personal data, question the status quo, and demand far greater transparency and control.

Comply, Compete, Innovate

Trust is a complex thing to achieve however and raises many questions. We have seen at first-hand how TPPs actually create and provide their services – and noted in particular the onward sharing of data: the ‘provisioning chains’ between parties that combine to create the end product. So, how should TPPs ensure that they meet their regulatory obligations, while delivering a great customer experience? How confident should TPPs be that they are, indeed, compliant?

If a consumer has numerous active consents – likely impacting multiple parties in the provisioning chain – can a TPP really be confident that where data is shared, their regulatory obligations are met? What if the lawful basis for data processing in a fourth party may need to change?

Some of the parties in a provisioning chain will be regulated under PSD2, some may be outside the regulatory perimeter. Some may fall within the scope of more than one regulator. Not all parties will be visible to each other, particularly where they fall outside the regulatory perimeter. All parties would need to consider GDPR obligations which apply to them.

As Nathan and I explained at the Open banking World Congress, there are still questions to answer – and there is work to do to highlight key points to the consumer. This is already underway, as detailed in the latest version of the OBIE Customer Experience Guidelines.

So, as open banking and data sharing generally grows exponentially, the ecosystem evolves, and data volumes increase, how do we protect the consumer and keep their Trust?

A vision for the future

A critical component to any discussion about the future-state of open banking is the recently published Open Banking Roadmap – which includes TPP-side Customer Protection. Ensuring that TPPs maintain the highest standards in this area is crucial: customer consent sits at the very heart of open banking and, let me stress again, is one of the foundation stones of customer trust.

We know from both our own as well as published consumer research, That consumers have limited appreciation of the data ecosystem. They are unaware of the extent of data sharing, and some believe, incorrectly, that data transactions are bounded.

The time has come to push forward on this new frontier and build on the strong foundation we have established to date.

In response, the future of open banking will build on the existing TPP Guidelines in addressing all aspects of consent and permissions, paying particular attention to the codification and purpose of data sharing.

Codification of consent

A codified approach to consent could, if done well, bring data protection laws to life in a more meaningful way to the benefit of consumers and TPPs alike. We will be working with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to explore relevant best practice, which interestingly already makes a series of recommendations about what information should be included within a data sharing agreement. These recommendations include:

• The purpose of data sharing
• Other organisations involved in the data sharing
• What data items will be shared
• The lawful basis for sharing (for GDPR)
• Inclusion of special category or sensitive data
• Access and individual rights of the consumer
• Information governance arrangements (such as accuracy of data, the deletion of data, termination of data sharing and complaints management)
• Review periods for the agreement

We’ll be exploring the feasibility and design of consent capture as well as the feasibility of enabling traceability and auditability. This, of course has far-reaching consequences as it will reveal the potential for a consent standard – possibly with the associated API specifications and metadata.

Put simply, this is a very exciting time for shaping the future of consent for services, alongside the use of data. These components could result in really effective consent management dashboards, by establishing a foundation for the transparency, tools and controls, that consumers will require to feel confident about how their data is being used.

This work will go deeper than Customer Experience as we’ll be building on the best practice Operational Guidelines already published. There are process and procedural implications when considering data that is onward shared across the provisioning chain, and we want to ensure that all parties have access to information on applicable regulatory considerations and best practice.

Progressing together as an industry

Today, we are standing on the frontier I mentioned earlier. We are charting a way forward into exciting new opportunities and looking for the right way for consumers to stay protected and informed, with greater control of their personal data. We’re looking for strong benefits and above all, Trust.

This activity must work for the ecosystem, whether TPP, ASPSP or non-regulated parties that combine to enable open banking to thrive and succeed. After all, if it doesn’t work for the market, it won’t deliver to the consumer. Therefore, I’ll leave you by urging you to be part of this discussion and help to shape what the OBIE does in this space.

The consultation on this work will start in July and run for two months. Let’s be bold in our ambition, because if this is done well consumer trust will be high and propensity to use OBIE enabled services will therefore continue to climb – key ingredients of a successful data-sharing economy and setting the bar for data sharing across other sectors and markets.

Miles Cheetham

May 2020

Credit Unions are beginning to embrace the opportunities of open banking, as they continue to provide their members with a wide range of products and services, play an important role within their local community, and contribute to the vibrancy of the UK’s financial services landscape.

Open Banking does not endorse the products, services or statements featured on this page. For further information see our website terms and conditions.

Download the Finance Innovation Lab report

Open Banking has been hailed as a revolution in financial services. But what does it mean for organisations, like credit unions, who are at the forefront of supporting people to manage their finances and access fair services?

Download this new briefing today, Open Banking: An introductory guide for credit unions, where  Finance Innovation Lab’s Head of Programmes, Marloes Nicholls, demonstrates the importance of this question, and the need for wider debate and action across the credit union movement – and beyond. Published by the Centre for Community Finance Europe.

Lending Better, Together

Download this short visualisation today, as it brings to life three of the use cases identified in the Finance Innovation Lab’s recent report. Demonstrating the potential of open banking to transform the lending process for credit unions and their members.

View the infographic.

Open Banking: an introductory guide for credit unions is a new report published by the Centre for Community Finance Europe and written by Marloes Nicholls, Head of Programmes at the Finance Innovation Lab. In this blog, Marloes shares some background to the guide and her key findings.

OBIE spoke to six of our member firms, to better understand the many ways that charities and non-profit organisations can benefit from open banking-enabled services. This insight forms part of our #PowerOfTheNetwork campaign – shining a light on the efforts of the open banking ecosystem to address the economic impact of Covid-19.

Open Banking does not endorse the products, services or statements featured in these videos. For further information see our website terms and conditions.

Covid-19 is having a devastating effect on both the physical and financial health of people across the country. Addressing the economic impact of the pandemic, problem-solvers from the open banking community and broader financial services industry have been stepping up with new ideas for unprecedented times. At OBIE, we are shining a light on those members of our community who have answered the call: and so #PoweroftheNetwork was born.

Both NuaPay and EcoSpend targeted the operational impact of Covid-19 on charities. Nick Raper, NuaPay’s Head of UK, explained how ‘stay at home’ orders impact donations: “We saw data that charitable donations were significantly down as a result of Covid-19 and declining footfall on the streets, and felt compelled to try and reverse the trend by raising money through online channels.”  For Dr. Josh Cowley, Head of Data Science at EcoSpend, the focus was reducing charities’ operational costs. “We realised that donors were paying unnecessarily high fees to transfer funds to the NHS and other recipients.  We wanted to eliminate those costs so that a donor’s money reaches the intended recipient for the fight against Covid-19 without unnecessary charges.”

David Atkinson, Head of Product at Citizen is working to help charities answer the digital question: “Receiving donations comes with technical challenges, especially leveraging the latest payments infrastructure. We’re helping bridge the gap between organisations at the fringe of fintech innovation and the benefits of using Open Banking: any organisation can start using this quickly, without having to do the technical heavy-lifting to get up and running.”

For some, it was more about realisation than inspiration – understanding that the business they had been building could be the right answer, in the right place, in the right time. Mujtaba Jaffer, PledJar CEO, explained, “We launched PledJar earlier than planned on Android to provide a more financially manageable alternative to fixed direct debits, by enabling users to donate their digital spare change.” Bottomline Technologies had a similar experience. According to Chris Spalding, Commercial Product Manager, “Since 2019, Bottomline has run an internal PISP (Payment Initiation Service Provider) donation service, which enables our employees to donate to our chosen charities. We have used this as the foundation for a market-facing solution aimed at small clubs and societies.”

The Benefits of Open Banking

Each contributor agreed that open banking can help reduce the cost of fundraising via card payments. Nick from NuaPay pointed to savings of up to 30% compared to cards: “For a charity raising £1 million, that can leave them with an extra £12,000 (or 1.2%) to fund critical activities.”

A second benefit to charities is the speed of settlement. According to Chris at Bottomline, “As a result of closing their doors due to Covid-19, clubs and societies have seen a massive reduction in funding as members cancel direct debits.” As David at Citizen explained, the UK’s faster payments network mean that “charities get donations instantly and can put the money to work right away.”

For PledJar’s Mujtaba Jaffer, open banking can bring charitable donations into our everyday financial lives. “If shoppers can round up purchases and donate their pennies digitally, we reclaim what would otherwise be lost income for the third sector – enabling them to rely on regular donations rather than one-off gifts.”

And our ecosystem members are willing to go further: Token and EcoSpend have committed to absorbing costs for third sector organisations. EcoSpend’s Josh Cowley wants “potentially significant cost savings for donors, and thus increased receipts for charitable organisations.” Token’s Michael O’Loughlin put it plainly: “We are in this together, and we are keen to do our bit to help the community recover normality as quickly as possible.”

Measuring the response: FinTechs, Charities, and Consumers

Michael at Token has seen “…a tremendous amount of positive activity amongst the Fintech and wider start-up community both in the UK and across the world.“ But how does that translate to the charities and non-profits – and of course consumer up-take?

Josh at EcoSpend reported warm sentiment from the charities he has contacted, and Citizen is already up and running: “We are providing fee-free donations for Shelter and YoungMinds – we can get charities up and running in about a day.”

For non-charities in the Third Sector, white labelling can help give members peace of mind. As Chris from Bottomline explained, “We are in the process of modifying our own donation service to allow customers to submit their brand elements online. The inclusion of the brand identity into the payment initiation journey builds confidence with their members and automation speeds the set-up.”

There are encouraging signs of donors being receptive. Mujtaba from PledJar reported directly from the coalface: “We’re working with the Small Charities Coalition, an umbrella with a network of more than 10,000 charities, as well as medium and larger charities directly. The success of our soft-launch and our market research both prove that there’s a wealth of consumer interest in the concept.”

Finally, open banking is optimising that all-important user experience, with NuaPay’s Nick Raper reporting “many comments on how easy it was to make a donation on your mobile.”

Open banking supporting the Third Sector beyond Covid-19

Each contributor agreed that the work of the open banking community is not yet finished: NuaPay are working on new, near-to-launch initiatives, and PledJar are preparing for an iOS app store launch. David reaffirmed Citizen’s focus on enabling access to open banking’s infrastructure, “especially for businesses without an online presence or app.”

Josh Cowley explained that EcoSpend are targeting a second challenge: “to allow self-employed individuals to cut through the paperwork,  by drawing data such as their past tax and remittances to HMRC, their latest income and other information directly from their bank accounts and submitting the data automatically to the Treasury.”

Michael O’Loughlin pointed to the potential of ‘Request to Pay’, a service that Token will align to Pay.UK standards: “Request to Pay gives individuals, gig economy workers,  and businesses a new way to communicate bill payment requests to their customers and allow them to pay remotely. It has the flexibility of cash but the automation advantages of a digital payment solution.” Personal Finance Management tools, many enabled by Token, have a role: “The saying ‘Knowledge is power’ has never been truer and we want to empower people to use their data to help improve their financial position.”

As the Covid-19 outbreak disrupts the lives of millions across the world, we are working to promote and showcase those members of the OBIE ecosystem who are stepping up to help others.

If your company should be listed here, contact comms@openbanking.org.uk.

Open Banking does not endorse the products, services or statements featured in these videos. For further information see our website terms and conditions.

Open banking and the Third Sector

CreditSpring develop forebearance solution

Nesta Open Up Challenge finalist CreditSpring are using open banking to make it easier for members to show their needs for forbearance, as well as make to facilitate the granting of forbearance: a seamless process to get help to the people who need it, with little friction. Members who are at higher risk of seeing a significant drop in earnings, can leverage open banking to certify that they have not had a drop, and therefore can responsibly access a loan.

CreditSpring are also taking variables from open banking to add to their StabilityScore, helping our members build their stability in simple steps.

Credit Spring continues to use open banking to verify an applicants’ income in parallel with more traditional ways, and are exploring a ‘re-verification’ of income at the time of a customer borrowing, to ensure responsible lending.

Visit their website to learn more.

Predictive Black supports SMES with financial forecasts

The Covid-19 crisis has left lots of SMEs requiring more help and support in getting their financial forecasts right. Predictive Black has launched a 3-month free trial of their platform, which brings powerful artificial intelligence software together with the power of open banking and macro market and economic data to create predictive forecasts of a company’s revenue, costs and cash.

Newly developed responsive scenario planning functionality has also been added to the service, meaning SMEs can work through and save any number of scenarios, plus download the output to support any loan applications.

Learn more about the Predictive Black service here.

And subscribe to Premium Teams using the promotional coupon code OBPOTN for three months free.

Funding Options provide alternative route to CBILS funding for SMEs

Funding Options are providing an alternative route for small and medium enterprises looking to access emergency funding via the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Read more details here.

Funding Options have also teamed up with ClearBank and its founder, Nick Ogden, to lobby the government to allow non-banks to administer CBILS funding.

More information on that activity here.

EcoSpend enables free payments to NHS

Ecospend is making its payment services available free of charge for payments to the NHS by individuals and charities, to support our frontline workers and providers who are leading the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ecospend is an open banking technology platform that matches supply and demand for high quality financial data for businesses and consumers.

Learn more about EcoSpend here.

Akoni Supporting SMEs, intermediaries and partners during Covid 19

Akoni is continuing to provide their cash marketplace and tools free to SMEs and have focused in particular on retail and IFA/white label solutions. They offer a range of cash and risk tools including bank diversification, competitive rates, as well as:

• 5 Minute Digital onboarding: businesses and consumers can onboard from remote working environments – anywhere – with all anti-money laundering performed in lockdown
• Time saving Cash Planner tools: simple access to balances and recent transactions, including instructed deposits
• Partner and White Label solutions: Wrapped users can now create their accounts and utilize the features Akoni has to offer. For SSAS, SIPP, Trust or Offshore bonds, users can now manage cash effectively via the Akoni platform.
• White Label Solutions – rapid delivery: Akoni are offering a free branded platform for channel partners, including IFAs, wealth managers/platforms as well as banks and insurers

Learn more about Akoni’s offerings at this time here.

MiaPago launch INK C-19 tracker service

Personal financial management app free for 6 months

OKEO working to support the financially excluded

OKEO is developing innovative affordability and credit risk models using current “crisis data” to lend money to financially excluded young adults at low rates during the pandemic. By utilising innovative data modelling and lending to critical sectors of the economy, OKEO’s vision is to help meet the needs of financially excluded individuals and help stimulate the UK economy.

OKEO is a London-based challenger credit card company that uses Open Banking and machine learning to provide access to affordable credit. The firm is now innovating to respond to the financial needs of individuals brought on by COVID-19 and a weakened economy.

Learn more about this new approach to lending here.

Untied.io supports gig economy workers an the self-employed

untied has launched untied for gig workers. It’s a new streamlined and simple product designed specifically to help gig workers prepare and submit tax returns. untied is making the service free to help people make sure that their tax returns for 2018/19 are submitted to HMRC by 23 April, the deadline for people to be eligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

untied is also offering its personal tax app for free for new users during the crisis. This will help the wider group of self employed people make sure they are up to date. untied uses Open Banking and other data to gather information, makes tax sense of it and submits filings it to HMRC. untied, the UK’s personal tax app, is recognised by HMRC, supervised by the Institute of Tax, and regulated by the FCA. With untied, there is no need for an accountant – you can follow the rules and reduce the tax you pay by being an expert in yourself not an expert in taxes. Thanks to HMRC integrations, tax returns can be submitted straight from untied.

Learn more about this new tool here.

Kalgera makes app free for families and carers of vulnerable people

Kalgera has announced that it is providing free access to its app to the families and carers of vulnerable people in contact with volunteers or trusted shoppers to remotely be alerted to unusual activity on their bank accounts. This will act as a deterrent to financial abuse, and will also detect and help prevent fraud. Kalgera has signed up to the C-19 Business Pledge to do whatever it can to help those most affected by the pandemic.

Kalgera’s mission is to safeguard the financial lives of vulnerable people. With COVID-19, it has become apparent that vulnerable people need support from people whom they trust and volunteers to purchase essential items on their behalf.

To access Kalgera’s service, simply register online at https://kalgera.com/usekalgera.

Credit Passport provides support tools for SMEs

Credit Passport have created two powerful new tools for SMEs to navigate the crisis, both available for free:

• A liquidity shortfall calculator – to allow SMEs to understand how much they may need to borrow to bridge the next 6 months.
• A Pre-Crisis Credit Report – to demonstrate to lenders and other institutions the financial quality before impact, eligibility, and impact of the crisis on the business.

Additionally, their Learning Centre now features the Covid-19 Resource Centre where business owners can find jargon free advice and tools to understand their options and find help.

AccountScore supports SME lenders

AccountScore is supporting SME lenders during the Covid-19 outbreak by “assisting them to effectively place capital into the hands of SMEs that require it to keep their business and the wider economy functioning.”

Read the announcement in full here.

AccountScore is also working with Equifax to support businesses and consumers when it comes to identifying the income and identity of a consumer looking to secure online products during the COVID-19 era.

Learn more about this initiative here.

‘Coronavirus Lighthouse’ offers guidance to people and businesses.

Starling Bank launches business support tool.

Swoop Funding’s coronavirus helpline for SMEs

Nesta Open Up Challenge finalist Swoop Funding has created a phone hotline for small and medium businesses based in both the UK and Ireland, with information on accessing the grant and funding options that are available to them.

UK: +44 (0) 203 868 0364

Ireland: +353 (0) 1 903 6135

Ducit.AI launches debt advice solution.

Ducit.AI, who combine open banking data with artificial intelligence-based analytics to enable better financial decision making, have launched a new tool to help debt advisors quickly gain an accurate understanding of their clients’ financial health.

Read in greater detail here.

Plaid makes platform free for Covid-19 development

Plaid, an Open Banking platform that connects to over 11,000 financial institutions in the UK, Europe, and North America, is offering free access for developers directly working on solutions to the pandemic. Please reach out to them for more details at europe@plaid.com.Visit the website here.

Tully launch payment relief resource

Tully, the open banking-enabled debt management provider and sister company of OpenWrks, have announced the launch of a new online resource that helps people understand, and access, the payment relief they may be entitled to during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Access the free online tool here.

Ordo Pay make person-to-person payments free

Payments provider Ordo Pay have launched a new initiative, Ordo Neighbour2Neighbour, making it free for the UK’s volunteers to help out during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Watch the explainer video here.

Getting support to where it’s needed most

Toucan supports consumers with mental health issues.

Coconut launch campaign for self-employed income support

A combination of OBIE ecosystem participants are calling on the Chancellor to do more for self-employed people during the Covid-19 outbreak – and plan to release a free-to-use Self-Assessment Calculator for fast 2019/20 tax returns. This web tool will be built on Coconut’s existing accounting and tax technology, and be made freely-available to everyone.

Visit the campaign page here.

FinTech Taskforce for Covid-19 Launches

Trade Ledger, a digital lending platform; Wiserfunding, a digital SME credit scoring platform; Nimbla, a trade credit insurance provider, and NorthRow, a remote client onboarding platform have established a new fintech taskforce to provide a turn-key origination and underwriting platform that allows banks, alternative lenders and private debt lenders to virtually and digitally deploy funds to businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Read the full article here.

CovidCredit.uk launches to help self-employed prove income

A team of developers from CreditKudos, 11:FS and Fronted joined forces over a single weekend to build and launch CovidCredit.uk, a work-in-progress income verification tool that demonstrates how open banking data could help self-employed people demonstrate loss of income during events like the Covid-19 outbreak.

Visit the website here.

iwoca launches new Open Lending platform

iwoca announced the launch of their new Open Lending platform, enabling their partners to make fast and flexible funding available to small and medium enterprises when they need it. The timely introduction of this new source of credit comes during a period when bank branches are closing across the country.

Read the press release here.

Experian offers affordability passport for free

Experian will be offering its Affordability Passport to organisations, including debt charities and lenders, for free as part of its response to the coronavirus outbreak. The open banking tool allows people to share their credit report and transaction data via a secure platform, providing a clear picture of an individual’s financial circumstances and commitments in rapid time.

Read the full article here.

Truelayer makes open banking platform freely available

OBIE ecosystem member Truelayer issued a call to arms to government agencies, charities, healthcare providers, app developers and hackers, offering to share their “expertise and technology, free of charge, to anyone who wants to use Open Banking to help reduce the impact of COVID-19.”

Read the full blog post here.

NestEgg.ai calls on credit reference agencies during Covid-19

NestEgg.ai, who partner with TSP Truelayer to provide open banking-enabled services to credit unions across the country, has called on credit reference agencies to take a holistic view of credit-score-related decisions, as the likelihood of defaults and missed payments will increase due to the disruption caused by Covid-19.

Read the blog in full here.

Fractal publishes Covid-19 guide for SMEs

Fractal, the AI-powered financial assistant helping businesses better manage their cash, have published a comprehensive guide filled with information about the support available to small and medium enterprises across the UK during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Read the guide in full here.

Consumer protection is central to our Open Banking Standards, and already it is clear that Open Banking has a valuable role to play in helping vulnerable customers manage their financial data. We take a look at some of the initiatives, apps and services that are being developed, with particular focus onto the area of money and mental health.

Open Banking does not endorse the products, services or statements featured on this page. For further information see our website terms and conditions.

Open Banking and mental health: transforming more than payments

A quarter of all people experiencing mental health problems are in debt. Last year over 100,000 people in problem debt attempted suicide. 93 per cent of people with mental health problems spend more when they’re unwell. These statistics from the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute should shake us up and get us talking.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. Approximately one in four people in the UK experience mental health problems each year, with a combination of depression and anxiety being the most frequently experienced type of health problem. For many people, thinking about money is anxiety-inducing and talking about it is depressing. Money provides security, affirms our identity and our sense of personal power – people’s finances have a direct impact on their emotional well-being. When we’re struggling financially or mentally, it can affect us in more ways than one.

This is why the potential of Open Banking is so potent. Our industry is increasingly in a position to ‘connect the dots’ between people’s financial health and their mental health. Open Banking has a valuable opportunity to be a force for good, driving more sensitive and personalised services which could improve wellbeing and benefit all society.

Transaction data shared via Open Banking provides fertile soil for innovation. A number of firms have already responded to the ‘Stopper Shopper’ trials run by MMHPI, which showed the benefits of giving people the option to block spending on certain sites or at certain times of day. Account aggregation and the insights it enables can provide a new sense of control, which has been difficult to attain before. Tech firms are looking to build account assistants, giving people the option to nominate a friend or carer when their financial circumstances drop below a certain threshold, or seem out of kilter. Open Banking is revitalising the debt sector, affording consumers simpler and less stressful ways to get help. There is yet more potential for mainstream aggregators – fintech firms and banks who have launched solutions that enable users to see all of their bank accounts in one screen – to identify indicators for debt earlier and refer people for help more quickly.

But trust is essential. Work by Barclays, where they surveyed customers on sharing their data to identify vulnerability, shows that where people have good experiences of financial services, they are more willing to trust firms to intervene to help them (based on their data). However, where customers have been impacted, they remain sceptical. It is critical that we have strong controls in place to ensure that consumers and their data are not only ‘protected’ but respected – and that consumers know that the firms they sign up to really are on their side.

This speaks to a different kind of culture – one that’s more people focused. It’s also one that’s not afraid to talk about mental health in the workplace. Learning to have healthy conversations about mental health in the workplace is important for our growing start-ups and economy. It’s great to see Monzo proactively championing mental health in the workplace, as well as industry figures like the Competition and Markets Authority’s Adam Land sharing his own experiences with such honesty.

Facing the reality of our humanity and our mental health stories is sobering, but positive developments like those outlined above also give rise to celebration. Even at the beginning of the Open Banking journey we’re seeing positive efforts to reflect the needs of real (rather than perfect) consumers. As Open Banking grows, I am looking forward to seeing how it changes lives (and not just payments) for the better.

To learn more about what Open Banking is doing in the area of supporting vulnerable customers, visit www.openbanking.org.uk/insight/vulnerable-customers/

Standards designed with vulnerable consumers in mind

OBIE has placed the needs, security and protection of vulnerable consumers, such as those experiencing mental health issues, at the heart of our API Standards and Customer Experience Guidelines. Read this short summary of why that is, as well as an overview of the guidelines provided to Open Banking participants.

Can data and AI help break the link between money and mental health problems?

Financial difficulties and mental health problems are closely interlinked. People with mental health problems are three and a half times more likely to be in problem debt, while half of all people in problem debt have a mental health problem. Over time this can drive a destructive cycle – each year over 100,000 people in problem debt attempt to take their own life.

Lots of organisations have a role to play in breaking this link, from the government and regulators to the NHS and local authorities. But financial firms can also make a big difference. For a start, they are often the only organisations which know when someone is struggling with their finances, due to the stigma around debt.

Moreover, financial firms are well-positioned to spot when someone’s financial situation may be suffering due to poor mental health or other challenges, thanks to the customer transaction data they possess. These datasets are already analysed by firms for marketing and fraud protection purposes. But use of these datasets — when combined with innovations in open banking and AI — has the potential to transform the capacity of financial firms to both identify and support customers experiencing financial difficulty and mental health problems.

For example, someone experiencing a manic phase of bipolar disorder may be more vulnerable to impulsive spending or losing track of their finances. Others affected by depression might withdraw completely from financial management when unwell, resulting in unpaid bills stacking up. In both these situations, it’s very likely that those patterns of behaviour will become evident in their transactions data.

The question, however, is what firms should do next. Some people will welcome their bank or creditor keeping an eye on their spending patterns, and making contact if they raise concerns. Some others may prefer to access these types of services from independent third parties (FinTechs that are regulated by the FCA and registered with OBIE), rather than their banks. And there will be those for whom the idea of a bank monitoring their data is uncomfortably Big Brotheresque. Given these big ethical questions around privacy, consent and customer appetite, and the technical challenges that using data poses, it’s unsurprising that financial firms have thus far been reluctant to act.

To address these questions, Money and Mental Health is undertaking a ground-breaking programme of work with the Financial Conduct Authority, exploring how financial firms can use transactions data and AI to identify and better support people struggling with financial difficulties – with the aim of offering timely support to people who may struggle to ask for help due to a mental health problem. This will culminate in October with the publication of a research report offering practical recommendations to firms on how to navigate these issues. Our hope is that this will help ensure firms can make the most of the transformative potential of data and AI, while prioritising the customer’s best interests and safety.

Spotlight on Nationwide’s ‘Open Banking for Good’ Challenge

From a pool of 50 applicants, Nationwide Building Society have selected seven FinTech companies who will develop Open Banking based apps and services to help financially vulnerable people.

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, we caught up with Bailey Kursar, CEO and Founder of Toucan, and Stuart Bungay co-Founder and CEO at Tully, about helping people experiencing mental health issues through open banking technology. Both Toucan and Tully were recently selected as finalists in the Open Banking for Good challenge, in the ‘Money Management & Help’ category.

What negative impacts can people’s finances have on their mental health?

Both Stuart and Bailey confirmed that our finances can directly impact on our mental health. According to Bailey, “We’re taught that if you can’t get a handle on your spending, you’re ‘lazy’, ‘reckless’ or ‘stupid’. One of the biggest things we can do to improve people’s lives is to improve their financial literacy.”

Stuart agreed: “Debts and the stress they cause can seriously impact a person’s mental and physical health. One in three people in the UK who seek support have mental issues such as anxiety.”

Why did your company choose to leverage Open Banking to address this?

Tully and Toucan are both using Open Banking technology to support and empower their vulnerable customers, but for quite different reasons.

Tully use Open Banking to reach users on their terms. Stuart explained, “We use Open Banking to allow people to seek help and advice in an environment where they feel comfortable. At Tully, we use Open Banking for a variety of functions, from building an individual’s budget based on actual transaction data, to supporting and coaching individuals to make their money go further each month.”

For Toucan, rate of innovation is more important. According to Bailey, “Legacy banks aren’t moving fast enough to build important new features that we’re focused on delivering – like third party notifications, designed to help those with bipolar disorder and similar conditions get support with their spending from a family member or friend. Open Banking enables apps like Toucan to use the data we need to deliver these new features without relying on legacy banking systems or processes.”

What are the benefits of using Open Banking for your company?

Both Tully and Toucan chose Open Banking to increase the functionality they can offer their end users. For Bailey, “Open Banking gives us the ability to build smart features around a customer’s spending data.”

And Stuart agrees: “Open Banking provides Tully with an accurate real-time view of how much a person can actually afford to repay on their debts. We then use real-time updates to support behaviour change over time, helping our customers achieve short term spending change to save towards longer-term goals.”

What are the benefits of using Open Banking for your customers?

Both Stuart and Bailey referenced the real, tangible improvements to how people can manage their money.

Stuart again emphasised availability: “Open Banking allows Tully’s customers to complete their budget and get the advice they need in their own time. Compared to the current industry standard, Open Banking provides a quicker and more accurate way of providing income and expenditure information, without having to guess or search through endless past bills and bank statements.”

And for Bailey, the benefits were even clearer: “Open Banking gives people a secure way to use their spending data in apps that aren’t controlled by their bank. Products like Toucan can then help them spend less, save more and get better deals.”

Thoughts on the future of FinTech in the arena of Mental Health

Much has been achieved to date, and FinTech applications continue to come online to empower vulnerable consumers with better access to a broader and more accessible range of financial products. However, for Bailey, there is still more to be done – and vigilance must be the industry’s watchword going forward.

“I think there are areas where fintech has to take more responsibility for the implications of the innovations we build. The way we spend, save and borrow money has changed so much in the last decade; inevitably there will be people who are left behind, or who start to feel overwhelmed. It’s now up to us to be more thoughtful in the way we build new products. There is a lot more we can do to prevent overspending or debt connected to mental ill health, and also to alleviate anxiety around money management.”