Data highlights

The OBIE Highlights – October 2021

29 November 2021

Download open banking highlights – October 2021

330 regulated providers made up of 239 third party providers and 91 account providers, with 123 regulated entities that have at least one proposition live with customers

Commenting on the October highlights, Charlotte Crosswell, OBIE Trustee and Chair, said:

“Since joining the OBIE, I have been extremely impressed by the work going on behind the scenes across the ecosystem to take open banking mainstream. There is so much potential in terms of empowering consumers and small businesses to use their data to unlock better financial products and services. This in turn will stimulate financial innovation and drive greater collaboration between banks and challengers in the interests of their customers. I am particularly excited by the great momentum in open banking payments, and I look forward to that continuing.”  

Powered by open banking

PensionBee and Plaid join forces to help tackle chronic pensions under saving  

Online pension provider PensionBee and open banking platform Plaid have partnered to help people save more easily into their pension pots. Rather than typing out card numbers or manually setting up direct debits, PensionBee has enabled a “click, confirm, and carry on” experience within its app, while an estimated two-week process will be almost instant via Plaid’s platform. Going forward, PensionBee aims to integrate with Plaid’s open banking network to allow customers to connect their external financial accounts with their customer dashboard and easily consolidate old workplace pensions when they change jobs.

55% of UK credit providers plan to implement open banking by 2022

Equifax’s latest open banking research report found that 93% of credit providers expect to adopt open banking systems in the next 12 months. Nearly one in five respondents said they have fast-tracked plans due to Covid-19, highlighting open banking’s importance to businesses as we shift closer to a digital-first economy. The report also found that 80% of consumers would be willing to recommend open banking services to friends and family.

Volt and Worldline team up to expand access to open banking solutions 

Volt has partnered with Worldline, the French payments and transactional services firm, to give over 600 enterprise-level merchants globally access to Volt’s open payments infrastructure, driving significant levels of transaction volumes. This will allow Worldline’s customers to launch their own branded payment method with real-time settlement and substantially lower fees, leading to an improved user experience and conversion rates.

The Paypers: Open banking flying full speed ahead

This report looks at exponential M&A activity within the industry, and the impact of explosive TPP growth and firms like Plaid, TrueLayer and Tink moving into the payments space. Analysis from Accenture, built on data sets covering 20 of the largest economies responsible for over 75% of global GDP worldwide, suggests that as much as USD 416 billion in revenue will be at stake as the open data wave arrives. It’s expected that this trend will continue as incumbent, larger players want greater access to new products and services, and budding start-ups need the capital to flourish.

Key Highlights    

08.10.21 – Charlotte Crosswell is appointed Trustee and Chair of the OBIE 

Long standing fintech expert and thought-leader Charlotte Crosswell was appointed Trustee and Chair of the OBIE and tasked with leading the planned transition to the future arrangements of open banking in the UK.

11.10.21 – HM Treasury’s response to Payments Landscape Review 

The UK government has set out four priority areas for the payments landscape: strengthening consumer protections within faster payments; unlocking the future of open banking-enabled payments; enhancing cross-border payments; and future-proofing the regulatory and legislative framework that governs payments.

21.10.21 – OBIE publishes version 3.1.9 of the Open Banking Standard 

The OBIE published a revised version of the Open Banking Standard. The update incorporates further API specifications, customer experience guidelines, updated guidance on data handling and consent management, as well as guidance for TPPs when using VRPs for sweeping.

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For further information, please contact: press@openbanking.org.uk

About Us

The Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) is the entity set up by the CMA in 2016 to deliver open banking. Its trading name is Open Banking Limited.

The OBIE is governed by the CMA and funded by the CMA 9 (Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Danske, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, Natwest Group and Santander). Its works with the CMA 9, as well as challenger banks, financial technology companies, third party providers and consumer groups. The OBIE’s role is to:

  • Enforce the obligations on the CMA 9 under the CMA Order
  • Design the specifications for the Application Programme Interfaces (APIs) that banks and building societies use to securely provide open banking
  • Support regulated third party providers and banks and building societies to use the OBIE’s Open Banking Standards
  • Create security and messaging standards
  • Manage the OBIE’s open banking Directory which allows regulated participants like banks, building societies and third-party providers to enrol in open banking
  • Produce guidelines for participants in the open banking ecosystem
  • Set out the process for managing disputes and complaints