A future model for how the UK’s world-leading Open Banking functions can progress once the current implementation phase ends early next year has been set out today in a new report by UK Finance and Accenture.

Open Banking is a secure way to share financial information across multiple providers and is used in products such as account aggregation. The banking industry has invested an estimated £1.5 billion in infrastructure since the launch of Open Banking in 2016 by nine of the largest banks, known as the CMA9, and Payments UK, which is now part of UK Finance.

The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) final implementation roadmap is due to end in early 2021, with the banking and finance industry then required to keep the function running.

This new report sets out how this transition could be achieved and proposes that at the end of the current roadmap, the Open Banking functions are maintained and moved into a service company that is governed and funded by the wider banking and finance industry in a fair and equitable way.

To ensure a fair and representative governance structure across the industry, the report recommends that the service company board should consist of a mix of independent and industry experts with customer experience. It also suggests that the monitoring of the original CMA order on the CMA9 remains separate from the service company, to enable the service company to adapt to future mandates subject to the promotion of competition.

Eric Leenders, UK Finance managing director for personal finance, said: “It is vital that the Open Banking service community works together to ensure that the transition from the current roadmap to a more permanent plan is smooth, enabling the UK to maintain its world leading position in Open Banking as it develops.”

Share Story: