Consumers and businesses could be
given greater control over their financial
data to help secure better deals, under a vision for
open finance published today by the
FCA.
Open finance will unlock the potential
for people and businesses to share their financial data securely
with a range of financial services providers, helping them access
mortgages, investments, savings and pensions. This will give
financial services firms a more complete picture of consumers'
and businesses' finances, enabling more personalised and
inclusive services, alongside more competitive pricing and
stronger fraud protection.
The FCA will prioritise exploring how
open finance can help SMEs improve access to credit and
speed up loan applications. It will also examine how open finance
can help consumers manage and improve access to
mortgages.
David Geale, executive director of
payments and digital finance at the FCA,
said:
"Open finance has the potential to
transform how people interact with financial services. By giving
consumers and businesses more control over their own financial
data, we can help them access credit, secure better deals and
receive more customised support - while fuelling innovation,
competition and supporting economic
growth.”
To progress
plans as quickly as possible, the FCA will engage
with industry, consumer groups and fellow
regulators this year to develop a range
of practical open finance use cases. This
will be done through the FCA's Smart Data
Accelerator and PRISM (Prioritisation and Real-world
Insights Selection Matrix) Taskforce.
, chief strategy officer at
Innovate Finance, said:
“Just as open banking has sparked the
growth of many UK fintechs, so open finance can power a new wave
of innovation. By unlocking high quality data in a way that
secures consumer trust, open finance can be a foundation for
widespread adoption of agentic AI. We support collaboration
between industry and the FCA to deliver the roadmap at pace,
enabling agreement on priority use cases and datasets, and
appropriate regulatory action to open these up to competition and
innovation."
The FCA will work
with HM Treasury on options for a regulatory
framework for open finance by the end of
2027. Firms will be supported to introduce open finance
products sooner where they are already able to access
data and appropriate permissions are in
place.
Notes to editors:
- The FCA's Smart Data Accelerator
allows firms to test emerging technologies and use
cases for open finance in a secure space,
supporting agile and dynamic policy making.
- The FCA-led PRISM (Prioritisation and Real-world Insights
Selection Matrix) Taskforce will create a clear, reusable
framework for assessing the impact of open finance use cases.
- The FCA will consult on its proposed long-term regulatory
framework for open banking before the end of 2026. Open banking
is a secure and regulated way for people and businesses to share
access to payments data from their bank account with trusted apps
and services.
- Open banking has approximately 17 million
users, representing nearly 1 in 3 adults in
the UK.
- Research by Open Banking Limited and EY suggests
that the economic impact of open banking and open finance
combined could reach £7.4 billion per year in 5
years.
- For more information, visit Open banking and open finance
| FCA
