Our monthly update of all things open banking for April 2022, as well as the latest data on the providers and entities in our ecosystem. Trustee’s view Charlotte Crosswell, OBIE Chair and Trustee, commenting on the April highlights, said: “In April, we published the Open Banking Standard version 3.1.10, the final release under the CMA’s Revised Roadmap. This marks a pivotal milestone in a journey that began five years ago to drive innovation and competition in UK financial services. “Our Open Banking Standard has paved the way for our thriving ecosystem to bring innovative, real-world solutions to more than five and a half million active open banking users. We continue to facilitate the creation of new propositions, including progressing the roll-out of Variable Recurring Payments. This progress continues to deliver more and more cost-saving solutions for consumers and small businesses, something which is particularly important in these difficult economic times.” Powered by open banking – April 2022 Shawbook Bank rewards customers who share open banking data with lending discount Shawbrook Bank is leveraging open banking technology to make more accurate lending decisions. The specialist lender is offering a one per cent APR reduction to any customer that provides open banking data at the point of application and is subsequently eligible for a personal loan. Gaining this customer permission will allow Shawbrook to collect real-time income and expenditure information through credit scoring fintech ClearScore. TrueLayer introduces Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) Global open banking platform TrueLayer announced that VRPs will be delivered through a single application programming interface (API) which is transparent and fast. Matt Parish, the firm’s Product Manager, commented: “With TrueLayer’s API, businesses will be able to connect to select UK banks to take VRPs from their customers, from utility bills and subscription payments to rent instalments. Our VRP API also allows businesses to ‘sweep’ payments, transferring money between two accounts belonging to the same customer.” UniCredit extends partnership with Worldline for open banking Pan-European bank UniCredit has renewed its partnership with payment services fintech Worldline for a further two years. The strategic alliance means that instead of separate connections with many different banks, UniCredit can have extensive and cost-effective reach throughout Europe through a single API. This, in turn, will open up business opportunities for its customers as they will have the ability to execute Account Information Services (AIS) and Payment Initiation Services (PIS). Key OBIE highlights 28th April – Open banking: Vision for the Future Ministers and regulators gathered at the House of Commons at an open banking-focused event, hosted by MP John Penrose. The strong turn-out and nature of the discussions represented a commitment to the ongoing work of open banking and its future value. Charlotte Crosswell OBE, Chair and Trustee of the OBIE, delivered the opening remarks for the evening and reinforced her commitment to the completion of the final stages of the current Roadmap, and the orderly transition to a future entity beyond the CMA order. 26th April – Open banking for energy retailers – Siemens teams up with Ordo OBIE engaged with Siemens Energy UK and payments provider Ordo about how open banking payment solutions can help energy retailers reduce the cost-to-serve (including a cost-effective alternative to Direct Debits) and offer domestic customers a secure and convenient way to pay their bills. For an energy supplier managing a substantial volume of payment transactions each year, the introduction of open banking payments has significant benefits for both energy retailers and their customers. 5th April – Ministers acknowledge Smart Data as a top priority Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed a funding injection in the development of Smart Data in financial services in his speech at the Innovate Finance Global Summit. This comes after City Minister, John Glenn, recently praised the role of technology in underpinning innovation in financial services. 5th April – Charlotte Crosswell OBE, OBIE Trustee and Chair, spoke at IFGS 2022 Innovate Finance Global Summit 2022 gathered industry leaders ranging from innovators, institutions, and regulators to policymakers, start-ups, and investors. In a discussion titled, ‘Open Finance and Smart Data: Progress Across an Endless Sea of Possibilities’, Crosswell highlighted the strong commitment of government, regulators and the wider industry to maintain the UK’s world-leading position, and with user numbers passing 5 and a half million to continue unlock the benefits of open banking to consumers and SMEs. 4th April – The OBIE publishes Open Banking Standard version 3.1.10 After five years, the OBIE reached a major Roadmap milestone with the publication of the Open Banking Standard version 3.1.10. This is the final release under the CMA’s revised roadmap and as such, includes updates that have been made in response to changes in the UK RTS, the requirements defined in the Transaction Risk Indicator proposition document, as well as feedback from ecosystem participants. For further information, please contact: press@openbanking.org.uk