In less than six months since the final deadline of the EU’s PSD2, participants in the financial market in the Nordics have invested heavily in financial tech, according to Nordic API Gateway's research.
Thus, more than half (53%) of those interviewed have invested in new technology and infrastructure, and 50% have already developed new products and services, indicating the speed of adoption across the Nordics.
According to the research findings, nearly three quarters (58%) of respondents felt the new legislation is already having a positive impact on the region’s economy, and 83% saw it as an opportunity for their business. Nearly half (45%) suggested that consumers will be the biggest beneficiaries alongside fintechs (24%), with the latter particularly being championed by the larger financial institutions to succeed in this new era.
Even with territories such as the UK progressing well with their development of open banking-inspired interfaces, 64% of organisations in the Nordics believe the region is not behind its European counterparts when it comes to innovation around financial products and services.
While 51% of those interviewed stated that they had already implemented changes to their business and/or product strategy (this was significantly higher with the banks at 72%), a third (36%) suggested they still hadn’t made any kind of changes presented to them, and 40% stated that the development of new products and services would have the biggest impact on business performance.
Almost 4 in 10 (38%) agree that their organisation found responding to open banking legislation a challenge, with nearly half (46%) challenged by a lack of resource to build new solutions, and 38% finding difficulty in incorporating open banking solutions into their current offer.
The research found that there is little doubt amongst those interviewed that financial institutions opening their payment infrastructure and customer data to third parties will change the business landscape in the Nordics; nine in ten (90%) expect more tech-start-ups, 79% believe there will be an increase in AI technology, 88% expect a natural increase in competition in the market and 82% expect an increased pressure on customer service.
The research was conducted with more than 100 decision-makers in financial institutions, accounting providers and fintechs across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now