28% of UK consumers have 'no idea' what Open Banking

ECOMMPAY’s study found that 28% of consumers have ‘no idea’ what Open Banking is and how it is used. A further 20% stated that they were a ‘little confused’ about the term and its uses. Similarly, three years after its launch, one in ten (10%) business leaders still don’t understand what Open Banking is, or how it could help their business.

Younger people have a better understanding of Open Banking, with approximately a quarter (24%) of 25-to-34-year old’s stating that they completely understand Open Banking, compared to only 7% of over-55s. Even worse, four in ten (40%) of over 55s said they had no idea what Open Banking is.

Further, only 36% of business leaders surveyed said that their company had adopted Open Banking before 2021. An additional 32% said that while they haven’t implemented Open Banking thus far, they would like to in 2021.

The report also provides insights regarding the changing preferences of consumers in relation to checkout experiences. In a world where consumers are used to instant access and personalisation in most facets of life, they want their payments to be the same. Almost three quarters (71%) of consumers would be ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ likely to abandon their purchase if their chosen checkout method was not available. One in five consumers also said that the payment process is ‘very’ important in the brand experience, with a further 50% stating that it’s somewhat important.

The research came as part of ECOMMPAY’s latest whitepaper: ‘Beyond the pandemic: The outlook for Open Banking’, which provides an analytical overview of the current payment landscape, data on changing consumer and business behaviour, how Open Banking fits in and the key learnings for businesses. The whitepaper is built on insights from two surveys: one of 1,002 UK consumers and one of 500 business leaders in the UK, conducted by ECOMMPAY in collaboration with Censuswide. The research was completed in March 2021.