The unsung trio of Open Banking: Australia, Singapore, and India

The Paypers explores how Australia, Singapore, and India quietly built some of the world’s most advanced Open Banking and Open Finance systems.

 

Open Banking and Open Finance initiatives are reshaping the global financial ecosystem. However, progress levels vary across countries. From the Consumer Data Right (CDR) framework in Australia to Singapore’s market-led SGFinDex model and India’s massive Account Aggregator ecosystem, these three jurisdictions stand out for their approach, scale, innovation, and policy ambition.

Together, these countries illustrate an alternative path towards an Open Data future, where a data-driven financial landscape can be built on trust, interoperability, and consumer empowerment.

Australia, from mandate to momentum

In the Land Down Under, the Consumer Data Right framework is considered one of the world’s most advanced examples of regulated Open Banking, one of the rare such ones globally (many jurisdictions possess either voluntary or guidance-led frameworks). Introduced in 2020, CDR allows consumers the right to access and share their financial data with accredited third parties. According to a report on the state of Australian Open Banking in 2025, there have been more than 1.8 billion API calls in the past year, doubling the amount of API calls from the year before. The Australian ecosystem is supported by a cohesive network of banks, fintechs, and data recipients.

Paradoxically, despite a combination of infrastructure maturity and strong regulation, uptake is still limited. As evidenced by a CDR strategic review from 2024, Australia had only 0.31% of bank customers on an ‘active data sharing arrangement’, close to 200K active CDR data sharing consents by the end of 2023, and a high rate of revocations (close to 51% in 2023) which indicated that many were one-off users.

The regulator, ACCC – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, began enforcing compliance rigorously; for example, the ACCC fined NAB  in 2025 for inaccurate data disclosure under CDR.

One thing remains clear: Australia’s ambition to extend CDR beyond banking into non-bank lending, Buy Now, Pay Later, insurance, pensions, and energy, creating a truly cross-sector Open Finance framework. Announced in 2024, the ‘CDR Reset’ seeks to improve consent flows and expand participation, which could potentially unlock mainstream adoption.

Main takeaway: although leading globally in regulatory architecture and data governance, Australia’s next challenge is commercial; the country needs to transform world-class infrastructure into sustainable consumer engagement and tangible business value. 

Singapore, a collaborative ecosystem approach

Moving past Australia’s regulatory-led Open Banking initiative, let’s look at Singapore and its market-led, infrastructure-first model, which mixes public trust with private sector innovation.

When MAS – the Monetary Authority of Singapore – released guidelines (not regulation) for Open Banking adoption, it highlighted interoperability, security, and experimentation. This way of thinking gave birth to SGFinDex (Singapore Financial Data Exchange) in 2020. A platform that enables consumers to aggregate financial data stemming from banks, insurers, and government agencies, SGFinDex provides a single, secure digital view.

APIX, global marketplace and API sandbox launched by MAS, acts complementarily, allowing financial institutions and fintechs to co-develop new solutions under MAS supervision. Together, SGFinDex and APIX turned Singapore into the regional hub for Open Finance experimentation across the Southeast Asia region.

A key aspect of Singapore’s success is its national digital identity infrastructure, SingPass, and cybersecurity frameworks, which build trust in data sharing activities at a level scarcely met in other jurisdictions.

Main takeaway: Singapore showcases that effective Open Finance goes beyond legislative compliance. Strategic infrastructure, digital identity frameworks, and collaboration between regulators and key stakeholders can deliver impactful results in fintech-dense markets. 

India, where account aggregators rise

The Subcontinent has perhaps the most inclusive and transformative model of Open Finance at scale. The Account Aggregator (AA) Framework was developed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in partnership with allied regulators to allow consumers and SMEs to share, with consent, financial data across banks, insurers, pensions, and mutual funds. In 2024, the ecosystem boasted more than 64 million accounts, processing over 100 million consent-based data transfers.

Stepping aside from traditional Open Banking regimes, India approached Open Finance from the get-go, seeking to ‘open’ the entire financial stack, not just banking. Combined with the country’s flagship payment system UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and digital identity system (Aadhaar), India built one of the strongest digital public infrastructures in the world.

As a result, fertile ground was created for fostering fintech innovation. Startups are developing consent-based lending, customised wealth tools, and SME lending platforms, all catalysed by interoperable APIs and standardised consent architecture.

Still, India faces challenges with standardisation across a myriad of financial institutions, enforcing data privacy, and monetising Open Data services at scale. However, the country’s trajectory remains clear: an inclusive, scalable, and exportable Open Finance model which could serve as a blueprint for other emerging economies.

Main takeaway: the success of the Indian Open Finance model stems from digital public infrastructure and financial inclusion initiatives, proving that openness is not strictly tied to advanced economies.

Table: comparison between Australia, Singapore, and India and their Open Finance models

 

Global implications: from Open Banking to Open Everything

The markets mentioned above exemplify the next phase of Open Finance, one that has been trumpeted for some years now, one that moves beyond banking and institutional silos and places emphasis on interoperability across the ecosystem.

• In Australia we find a regulatory benchmark for data governance,
• Singapore showcased a blueprint for collaboration and sandbox-driven innovation, and
• India proves that Open Finance can be inclusive at scale, building on public infrastructure efforts.

The lesson is clear: Open Finance is more than compliance and competition; it’s about collaboration and connectivity.