Download open banking highlights – July 2021 325 regulated providers made up of 234 third party providers and 91 account providers, with 114 regulated entities that have at least one proposition live with customers Commenting on the July highlights, OBIE’s Implementation Trustee Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE said: “July represented a landmark month, when the CMA in the line with the OBIE’s advice, opted to mandate variable recurring payments for sweeping. This was a great result because these ‘smart direct debits’, will transform payments, giving consumers and SME’s greater financial control. We are especially delighted as this long-awaited decision is the last major piece of Open Banking functionality to be implemented.” Visit the OBIE App store RobinPay Powered by open banking (from LinkedIn) Nationwide helps debt-stressed customers through open banking technology Nationwide’s OpenWrks platform uses artificial intelligence and reductive logic to allow people to pull information together from different sources and build an accurate digital income and expenditure statement. OpenWrks is also working with expert advisors at the Money and Pensions Service to visualise customers’ income and expenditure data – leading to more personalised and relevant advice. Nook and Yapily join forces to create trade collaboration platform for SMEs Nook and Yapily have collaborated to eliminate invoice fraud and offer secure bulk payments for SMEs. Many SMEs still rely on poorly integrated tools to manage their accounts payable process, resulting in inefficiencies and exposing them to fraud. Nook tries to remedy this by combining invoice processing, approvals, secure payments, and account reconciliation with Yapily’s platform, therefore improving the payment experience and fighting fraud. TrueLayer YouGov study: Retailers are embracing open banking A new study from TrueLayer and YouGov highlights several new trends that are changing consumer habits in terms of payment solutions and the ecommerce market. Francesco Simoneschi, CEO of TrueLayer, predicts that open banking payments will replace debit cards as the default method of payment by 2027. The study revealed that 74% of merchants are planning to offer instant bank payments, via open banking, as part of their long-term strategy. Mastercard’s Finicity partners with Green Dot to advance financial wellness Finicity’s collaboration with Green Dot looks to improve financial health and inclusion by providing advanced data access, greater transparency and control for its consumers. This is yet another move by the credit card giant to extend additional choices for financial services to its customers, further cementing open banking’s influence. Key Highlights 05.07.21- Francis McGee is appointed as the OBIE Consumer Representative Francis will be responsible for advising on and contributing to the development of open banking, the CMA roadmap, governance, policy, practice and communications, to help deliver positive consumer outcomes as outlined in the CMA’s Retail Banking market review. 13.07.21 – Fintech Week: Imran Gulamhuseinwala, OBIE Trustee Delivering the Keynote: Open Banking – Banking as a Service, Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBIE Implementation Trustee said, “Open banking is ambitious because it is built on a big idea. It taps into this fundamental idea that our data, specifically our financial data, is valuable and we should be able to use it to get a better deal out of financial services. Open banking puts consumers first. Its ambition is to help consumers and SME better engage with financial services, to make better decisions and improve their financial health.” While, speaking on the panel: Open Finance – Financial Health, Alan Ainsworth, OBIE Head of Policy said, “we need another roadmap, one that takes us from where we are today – the foundation era of open banking, into a digital economy where we have customer data rights to share your data with whomever you choose, for the benefit of you as an individual or an SME.” 15.07.21 – OBIE Financial Inclusion and open banking event TechUK and OBIE hosted a session exploring how open banking can and has helped vulnerable customers to access vital financial services, enforcing open banking’s opportunity to promote wider financial inclusion. The pandemic has changed the way people work and interact with service provision and as a result, individuals and companies now demand access to tailored and transparent financial services. 27.07.21 – VRPs required for Sweeping In a letter to the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) Implementation Trustee Imran Gulamhuseinwala, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has decided that implementing ‘sweeping’ through variable recurring payments (VRPs) is “appropriate and proportionate”. The CMA’s decision means that the largest UK current account providers will be required to implement VRPs within the next six months and allow free access to third-party providers who are using VRPs to enable their customers to move money from their current accounts to other accounts. – – – ENDS – – – For further information, please contact: press@openbanking.org.uk About Us The Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) is the entity set up by the CMA in 2016 to deliver open banking. Its trading name is Open Banking Limited. The OBIE is governed by the CMA and funded by the CMA 9 (Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Danske, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, Natwest Group and Santander). Its works with the CMA 9, as well as challenger banks, financial technology companies, third party providers and consumer groups. The OBIE’s role is to: Enforce the obligations on the CMA 9 under the CMA Order Design the specifications for the Application Programme Interfaces (APIs) that banks and building societies use to securely provide open banking Support regulated third party providers and banks and building societies to use the OBIE’s Open Banking Standards Create security and messaging standards Manage the OBIE’s open banking Directory which allows regulated participants like banks, building societies and third-party providers to enrol in open banking Produce guidelines for participants in the open banking ecosystem Set out the process for managing disputes and complaints