OPEN FINANCE As open banking evolves to become open finance, we examine some of the current and potential uses of this financial innovation. We also look beyond open finance to explore the wider economic opportunities offered by smart data – ‘open everything’.Read our eBook – ‘From open banking to open finance’Scroll for more Journey to open finance In the six-plus years since open banking became a regulatory requirement in the UK, there are now more than nine million users of this financial innovation. Millions of consumers use open banking-enabled apps and products to help them budget, build their savings, and manage debt. In addition, hundreds of thousands of businesses benefit from real-time insights on their cash flow, and embedded finance links to help them get paid faster – enabled by open banking connections with their accounting software.Yet while open banking has made significant progress, its benefits have been limited to payments, current accounts, and credit applications. Open finance will extend these benefits to mortgages, pensions, investments and savings, while applying the same data sharing principles – smart data – to other economic sectors, will lead to ‘open everything’. What can it deliver? Savings Open finance could enable consumers and businesses to maximise the interest they earn by keeping the bulk of their money in interest-bearing savings accounts, only ‘sweeping’ the money to a current account when needed for mortgages, rent, supplier payments, or other bills. Find out more in our ebook Mortgages As well as cutting down on the paperwork required to validate home loans, open finance could also provide borrowers with a quick and personalised overview of suitable mortgage products across the market.. Property rentals Open finance will build on existing credit checking and referencing abilities, which speed up the rental process for tenants and landlords alike, offering ‘rental platforms’ alongside open finance-enabled ways to pay. Subscriptions Variable recurring payments for non-sweeping – a ‘smart Direct Debit’ – will give consumers more control over repeat expenditure on things such as entertainment services and gym memberships, helping to avoid the ‘subscription trap’. Pensions Providers will offer members a pensions dashboard with a complete view of all their finances (current accounts, savings, and investments), alongside links to related tools such as pensions and benefits finders, and rental tools. Investments As well as opening up wealth management to a wider audience (some low-cost apps offer a minimum investment of just £1), open finance will enable investment managers to reduce processing costs and complete digital onboarding and offer digital advice to a wider audience. Select to scroll to the previous slide Select to scroll to the next slide What’s driving the journey? In January 2023, the CMA announced the completion of the open banking Implementation Roadmap. As we plan for a possible transition to a Future Entity, OBL now looks to the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee to build a sustainable and competitive ecosystem that will unlock the full potential of open banking. The UK government has committed to deliver smart data legislation through the Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill in the next session of Parliament. The legislation will allow the government and regulators to extend the benefits of open banking and to mandate new smart data schemes in other sectors, including energy, telecoms, pensions, mortgages, transport, and insurance. The aim is to create competition in those sectors and deliver better outcomes for consumers and small businesses, helping to build a world-leading open data economy. Compare prices and tariffs Address the ‘loyalty penalty’ Facilitate one-click switching Deliver a data-driven economy Smart data – ‘open everything’ The government’s smart data legislation aims to help consumers and businesses navigate complex markets. It will also help users to compare prices and find cost-effective tariffs for essential utilities such as energy, water, mobile phone packages, and broadband. This could potentially save hundreds of pounds on bills, and address the ‘loyalty penalty’ – the difference between what loyal and new consumers pay for the same service – that many customers face when trying to change providers. It could potentially facilitate the switch to a cheaper or more relevant product in a single click. For example, downloading mobile phone consumption data to find a better package and have the price comparison site or provider complete the transfer. With the proper safeguards and regulatory framework, smart data can transform the way we manage our entire economic lives, promoting greater financial well-being, and unlocking the benefits of a truly data-driven economy.
OPEN FINANCE As open banking evolves to become open finance, we examine some of the current and potential uses of this financial innovation. We also look beyond open finance to explore the wider economic opportunities offered by smart data – ‘open everything’.Read our eBook – ‘From open banking to open finance’Scroll for more
Savings Open finance could enable consumers and businesses to maximise the interest they earn by keeping the bulk of their money in interest-bearing savings accounts, only ‘sweeping’ the money to a current account when needed for mortgages, rent, supplier payments, or other bills. Find out more in our ebook Mortgages As well as cutting down on the paperwork required to validate home loans, open finance could also provide borrowers with a quick and personalised overview of suitable mortgage products across the market.. Property rentals Open finance will build on existing credit checking and referencing abilities, which speed up the rental process for tenants and landlords alike, offering ‘rental platforms’ alongside open finance-enabled ways to pay. Subscriptions Variable recurring payments for non-sweeping – a ‘smart Direct Debit’ – will give consumers more control over repeat expenditure on things such as entertainment services and gym memberships, helping to avoid the ‘subscription trap’. Pensions Providers will offer members a pensions dashboard with a complete view of all their finances (current accounts, savings, and investments), alongside links to related tools such as pensions and benefits finders, and rental tools. Investments As well as opening up wealth management to a wider audience (some low-cost apps offer a minimum investment of just £1), open finance will enable investment managers to reduce processing costs and complete digital onboarding and offer digital advice to a wider audience. Select to scroll to the previous slide Select to scroll to the next slide
Savings Open finance could enable consumers and businesses to maximise the interest they earn by keeping the bulk of their money in interest-bearing savings accounts, only ‘sweeping’ the money to a current account when needed for mortgages, rent, supplier payments, or other bills. Find out more in our ebook
Mortgages As well as cutting down on the paperwork required to validate home loans, open finance could also provide borrowers with a quick and personalised overview of suitable mortgage products across the market..
Property rentals Open finance will build on existing credit checking and referencing abilities, which speed up the rental process for tenants and landlords alike, offering ‘rental platforms’ alongside open finance-enabled ways to pay.
Subscriptions Variable recurring payments for non-sweeping – a ‘smart Direct Debit’ – will give consumers more control over repeat expenditure on things such as entertainment services and gym memberships, helping to avoid the ‘subscription trap’.
Pensions Providers will offer members a pensions dashboard with a complete view of all their finances (current accounts, savings, and investments), alongside links to related tools such as pensions and benefits finders, and rental tools.
Investments As well as opening up wealth management to a wider audience (some low-cost apps offer a minimum investment of just £1), open finance will enable investment managers to reduce processing costs and complete digital onboarding and offer digital advice to a wider audience.
Compare prices and tariffs Address the ‘loyalty penalty’ Facilitate one-click switching Deliver a data-driven economy