“We are one step closer to delivering the potential of Open Banking for the benefit of consumers and businesses.” Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE, Trustee, Open Banking Open Banking, the implementation entity set up by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) to enable a new, secure way for customers to take control of their financial data and share it with organisations other than their banks, is pleased to invite companies which are potential users of Open Banking to start the enrolment process on the Open Banking Directory with effect from today. Open Banking has developed specifications in accordance with the CMA Order that determine how banks and building societies should enable other companies to, with the customer’s express permission, access accounts and send payments. Using these standardised API specifications, banks and authorised third parties are now able to begin developing new, innovative propositions and to tailor their products and solutions to the individual needs of consumers and businesses. The third parties will be required to have obtained the authorisation of the FCA before they are able to carry out transactions on behalf of customers. The Open Banking Directory is the key architectural component that enables regulated participants to enrol with Open Banking and initiate interactions with each other through APIs. At its core, the Directory is an identity and access management service providing identity information and security certificates to authorised users of Open Banking. These security measures are designed to ensure the integrity of the service providers and protect customers. Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE, Trustee of the Open Banking Implementation Entity, said: “Open Banking continues at pace and we are one step closer to delivering the potential of Open Banking for the benefit of consumers and businesses. “Today’s announcement is an important milestone following on from the initial versions of Open Data and Read/Write APIs issued in March and July this year respectively. It also brings us one step nearer to creating a world leading open banking service that will allow consumers to take back control over their finances so that they can conveniently and safely move, manage and make more of their money.” For further information, please contact: Emma Byrne emma.byrne@openbanking.org.uk (0)7775 657 241 About Us Open Banking is a new, secure way for customers to take control of their financial data and share it with organisations other than their banks. Open Banking has the power to revolutionise the way we move, manage and make more of our money. For businesses, it is about making the management of cashflow and receiving payments cheaper and easier. Open Banking will make things simpler, faster and more convenient. It is the retail banking industry’s response to the UK Government’s request for fairer, more transparent banking and financial services, and follows the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into the supply of personal current accounts (PCAs) and of banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Open Banking was created to enable innovation, transparency and competition in UK financial services. It is tasked with delivering the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), data structures and security architectures that will enable developers to harness technology, making it easy and safe for individuals and SMEs to share the financial information held by their banks with third parties. Open Banking will bring substantial benefits to individuals and SMEs greater market choice and greater control over their money and associated data, along with better and easier access to new financial services providers in a secure environment. For further information, please contact: press@openbanking.org.uk About Us Open Banking is a new, secure way for customers to take control of their financial data and share it with organisations other than their banks. Open Banking has the power to revolutionise the way we move, manage and make more of our money. For businesses, it is about making the management of cashflow and receiving payments cheaper and easier. Open Banking will make things simpler, faster and more convenient. Open Banking follows the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into the supply of personal current accounts (PCAs) and of banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Open Banking was created to enable innovation, transparency and competition in UK financial services. It is tasked with delivering the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), data structures and security architectures that will enable developers to harness technology, making it easy and safe for individuals and SMEs to share the financial information held by their banks with third parties. Open Banking will bring substantial benefits. It gives customers and SMEs greater market choice and greater control over their money and associated data, along with better and easier access to new financial services providers in a secure environment. Notes to Editors: 1. Open Banking Ltd was set up by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) in September 2016 to fulfil one of the remedies mandated by the CMA following an investigation into UK retail banking. 2. The CMA’s investigation into the retail banking market (whose findings were published in August 2016) concluded that older and larger banks do not compete hard enough for customers’ business and that Open Banking should deliver a new, secure option for customers to be able to compare the deal they are getting from their bank. 3. Open Banking was created to enable innovation, transparency and competition to UK financial services. It is tasked with delivering the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), data structures and security architectures that will make it easy and safe for customers to share their financial records by January 2018. 4. The data provided by Open Banking will enable developers to harness technology that allows individuals and businesses to share their financial records held by their banks with third parties. 5. Open Banking is a private body; its governance, composition and budget was determined by the CMA. It is funded by the UK’s nine largest current account providers and overseen by the CMA, the Financial Conduct Authority and Her Majesty’s Treasury. 6. The 9 mandated institutions (referred to as the CMA9) are: Barclays plc, Lloyds Banking Group plc, Santander, Danske, HSBC, RBS, Bank of Ireland, Nationwide and AIBG.