UK reaches 7 mln Open Banking users

User numbers are reported to the OBL by the CMA9 – the UK’s nine largest current account holders that were mandated under the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Order to implement Open Banking in the UK.

The Open Banking Strategic Working Group has recently published its final report for the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC). It informs JROC’s recommendations on the vision for Open Banking in the UK, due to be set out, alongside the design of the future entity, in the first quarter of 2023. The OBL report also comes at a time when key recommendations about the future of open banking are soon to be announced.

It is important to mention that 1.2 million of the 7 million are first-time users of Open Banking. From access to cost-effective credit, building a regular savings habit or making more informed financial decisions – Open Banking is delivering the means for our citizens to improve their financial well-being.

The state of Open Banking in UK

In The Paypers’ Open Banking and Open Finance Report 2022, Holly Conventry, VP of Open Banking Payments for International at American Express, said that 2022 would be the year that Open Banking went ‘mainstream’.

However, for Open Banking to take off, it was vitally important that consumers are assured their data will be protected. In Europe, this has largely been made possible by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which provides a standard dictating how any organisation holding, or providing access to, consumer data must secure that information. With access to consumer banking data, TPPs will be able to innovate a broad range of new financial products and services that offer customers more choices untethered to the bank they hold their accounts with. Primarily, PSD2 will also promote greater competition and improve efficiency by removing friction.

As Marie Walker explained in a recently published article, Open Banking has been years in the making but is now beginning to clearly demonstrate its potential. In more mature Open Banking markets, the earliest use cases – such as offering an aggregated view of accounts and personal financial management tools – are moving from being innovative services delivered by third-party apps to being part of banks’ own offerings.