Download open banking highlights – November 2020 289 regulated providers made up of 211 third party providers and 78 account providers, with 99 regulated entities that have at least one proposition live with customers. Commenting on the November highlights, OBIE’s Implementation Trustee Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE said: “November saw the launch of our consultation on Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) and Sweeping. This is something we shall be working closely with our ecosystem, Government and wider stakeholders on, as we believe both have the potential to transform the payments landscape – giving consumers greater control and transparency in the financial services they use on a daily basis.” New open banking entities with live customers: Fundingxchange Limited Klarna Bank AB Mia Pago Ltd Paystream Accounting Services Limited The Smart Request Company Ltd Visit the OBIE App store Powered by Open Banking Experian brings open banking powered credit score tool to the UK Credit ratings agency Experian is utilising open banking to improve people’s credit scores. Experian Boost factors in a broader range of transactional data into credit scores than traditional credit scoring, including money earned and spent, council tax payments, savings and investments, as well as subscription payments to popular streaming services such as Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon Prime. The UK launch follows the 2019 rollout of Experian Boost in the US, which has seen nearly 5 million sign-ups in its first 18 months.# Snoop doubles £5m target in crowdfunding campaign FinTech app Snoop has raised £10 million investment on Seedrs, double its £5m target. The investment, raised from 1,725 investors, includes £5m proposed match funding from the government’s Future Fund. Snoop is an AI-powered app which uses open banking to connect to a user’s accounts and send them free financial advice. It entered beta in January then launched fully during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Ecospend and Ecommpay align to bring open banking to merchants Open banking provider Ecospend has announced a strategic partnership with payments acquirer Ecommpay. The tie-up blends Ecommpay’s experience in traditional payment methodology with the huge potential savings open banking offers merchants. This includes, amongst others the reduction of acceptance issues or failed transactions in comparison to ordinary credit card transactions, a possible revenue potential to merchants via improved user conversion and allowing the user to route efficiently between credit card, direct bank and alternative payment methods via a single platform integration. Crunch launches free accountancy tool for sole traders Brighton-based accountancy firm Crunch have launched Crunch Free, a free-to-use, entry-level version of their accounting software to help the self-employed, many of whom have been severely impacted by the pandemic. The company trialed a pilot period of the software last summer and the ready-to-go version now open banking feeds that allow quick and easy importing of business transactions. There’s also receipt scanning to help with expenses management, plus intelligent bank reconciliation for keeping accurate tabs on cash flow. Token and Contis join forces to create added value for PSP’s, banks and merchants The strategic partnership will allow Contis to leverage Token’s merchant, digital wallet and payment service providers (PSP) customers to perform account pay-outs and refunds via the Token platform using established payment rails, such as faster payments in the UK, SEPA and SEPA Instant across the EEA. In parallel, Contis’s corporate customers will be able to realise the many benefits of open banking, including driving down the cost of payment initiation with Token’s account-to-account payments and data services. Key Highlights 3rd November 2020 – OBIE response to the FCA’s report on eIDAS Consultation 9th November 2020 – OBIE launches Variable Recurring Payments and Sweeping Consultation Information correct as at 30th November 2020. Produced by Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE). – – – ENDS – – – 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. OBIE is governed by the CMA and funded by the CMA9 (Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Danske, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, RBS Group and Santander). Its works with the CMA 9, as well as challenger banks, financial technology companies, third party providers and consumer groups. OBIE’s role is to: Enforce the obligations on the CMA9 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 Open Banking standards Create security and messaging standards Manage the 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