Last month the Lab hosted a roundtable with over 30 experts from fintech, banking, financial regulators and civil society to understand what Open Banking means for financial health, economic inequality and citizen power. We are now pleased to share a briefing summarising insights from the session.
Open Banking holds huge potential: it could put people in control of their financial data and enable products and services that work for customers and citizens. But this potential is not guaranteed. There are reasons to fear that Open Banking will increase information asymmetry and complexity, reduce customer control, and exacerbate exclusion and discrimination.
The report sets out the urgent actions needed to ensure that Open Banking works for everyone in society:
- Government expectations for Open Banking and regulatory oversight should be strengthened.
- A large-scale social investment programme should be launched to support organisations developing new Open Banking services that benefit customers and citizens, with a focus on non-commercial use and new business models that put social purpose at their heart.
- The Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming Discussion Paper on a Duty of Care for firms needs to reflect Open Banking developments.
- A Code of Conduct for Third Party Providers needs to be established, to help embed responsible data and innovation practices in their businesses.
- There needs to be a public awareness and education campaign about Open Banking and the data revolution in finance.
We are at a pivotal moment in the development of banking services in the UK: actions we take now could determine the direction of our financial system, economy and society for many years to come.
This is why the Lab is now working to engage influencers to take action – including policymakers, social investors, journalists. To discuss how you can help or to join the Lab‘s community of purpose-led innovators in finance, please email us at hello@financeinnovationlab.org.