Open banking has been a hot topic in the financial industry for a few years now, and it’s not hard to see why. With the increasing popularity of digital payments and the rise of fintech companies, consumers are becoming more open to the idea of third-party providers accessing their financial data to carry out transactions and payments directly from their bank account. Open banking represents a significant shift in the traditional banking model, one that is set to reshape the future of the banking industry.
Well-established players in the finance and banking industry are entering the open banking market with their offerings. For instance, as per data cited in our latest publication “Global Open Banking Market and Trends 2023”, more than 1,500 bank platforms globally have signed on to services that permit collaboration between institutions, with some major banks such as Deutsche Bank, Standard Charted, ING, and Revoult among others already providing open banking solutions.
One of the main drivers behind the growth of open banking is the increasing demand for more transparent and convenient financial services. Consumers are becoming more tech-savvy and are looking for digital solutions that can make their lives easier. Open banking provides them with the ability to access their financial information in real-time, as well as to share this information with third-party providers who can offer them personalized financial products and services.
Moreover, open banking is seen as a way to foster greater competition and innovation in the financial sector. By allowing third-party providers to access customer data, banks are forced to up their game and offer more innovative products and services. This, in turn, benefits consumers by providing them with a wider range of options to choose from and often at lower costs.
Europe has been at the forefront of the open banking revolution, with the UK leading the way. Since its launch in 2018, open banking in the UK has shown constant growth, with the number of users reaching 5 million in January 2022. This growth has been fueled by the implementation of the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) regulations, which require banks to provide third-party providers with access to customer data. The PSD2 has given rise to new players in the financial sector, such as fintech companies that are leveraging open banking to offer innovative financial products and services.
In Asia-Pacific, open banking is also gaining traction, with countries such as Singapore and Australia making significant strides in this area. The introduction of open banking across regions has led to an ecosystem of open data sharing among financial institutions, with the majority of enterprises as of 2021 adopting APIs, the system that governs open banking. Furthermore, during the same period, half of B2B collaborations came via API.
Fintech companies are also recognizing the potential of open banking for their business. Nearly two-thirds of them have expressed the wish to collaborate with payment network providers to develop open banking solutions. More than half of fintechs based on banking & finance APIs say that they focus on solving financial inclusion issues. With the growing demand for open banking for various uses such as payment initiation, the transmission of customer information, trade finance, account information, and electronic bank account management, open banking is expected to revolutionize the banking system.
In conclusion, the emergence of various stakeholders such as banks, tech giants, and fintechs among others, and the continuous innovation and development within the open banking market will reshape the conventional banking ecosystem. The potential benefits of open banking are clear: greater transparency and convenience for consumers, increased competition and innovation in the financial sector, and improved financial inclusion. It’s clear that open banking is here to stay, and it’s set to transform the banking industry in ways that we can only begin to imagine.
