Open Banking on the cusp of ‘golden opportunity’

As we approach the new year, the UK government has a ‘golden opportunity’ to grow the potential of Open Banking. 

It comes as the HM Treasury, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) confirmed the formation of a new Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (the Committee). 

As well as this, the Government and regulators have elevated their promise to continue the momentum that Open Banking tech has heading into 2023. 

The group underlined that continuing to tap into the opportunity of Open Banking can be a key to economic growth, which is vital at this particularly challenging time. 

At the heart of the government’s vision is a model that is scalable and enables data sharing and can enhance the growth of the space, as it continues to embrace an increasing number of sectors and regions. 

It also emphasised the importance of regulatory framework, which will be vital to the sustainability of the sector. 

Commenting on the strategic Working Group (SWG) report to the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC) today, Tom Burton, Director of External Affairs and Public Policy at GoCardless stated: “The Government and regulators have a golden opportunity to set open banking on a path to success and unlock further benefits for consumers and businesses.

“We need a sustainable future open banking framework that blends the right mix of regulation with commercial incentives, allowing firms to focus on delivering great customer experiences. This will be critical for building trust in open banking.

“GoCardless would love to see an empowered successor to the OBIE that can enforce compliance with mandatory standards; a greater range of bank data available that broadens the range of open banking use cases; and clear prioritisation of initiatives that could either transform open banking, like ‘non-sweeping’ variable recurring payments (VRPs), or produce ‘quick wins’ for improving the current customer experience.”

Moving forward, the CMA has confirmed that it will complete a roadmap for the future of the space and how its future looks will be mapped out in the near future.