The UK’s open banking space has achieved a new milestone as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reveals that it has fully completed its ‘Roadmap for Open Banking’. This means all nine banking providers mandated by the CMA under the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order (the CMA Order) have successfully completed the roadmap.
The announcement, made by Open Banking Limited (OBL), builds on the roadmap’s ‘substantial completion’ in 2023. Danske Bank, Bank of Ireland, and Allied Irish Bank have fully delivered all their roadmap requirements. This development brings enhanced financial control, smarter payments, and greater flexibility to all customers across the United Kingdom.
In addition to completing the roadmap, the nine banking providers have also acquired the functionality to offer the full suite of open banking payment and account information services, including variable recurring payments (VRPs) for sweeping.
Marion King, trustee and chair of OBL
Marion King, trustee and chair of OBL commented: “The CMA’s confirmation of the roadmap’s full completion is a major achievement for open banking in the UK. I’d like to pay tribute to the banking providers who have successfully implemented the roadmap, and the ecosystem and wider stakeholders for their hard work and collaboration that allowed us to reach this major milestone in a relatively short period of time.
“Thanks to their efforts, we are now able to move closer to a smart data economy in which we unlock the full potential of open banking for consumers and businesses alike.”
Maintaining the standard
Dan Turnbull, senior director, CMA
Dan Turnbull, senior director, CMA said: “Today’s update is an important milestone. The completion of the roadmap cements the move to the future of open banking, one that can expand the benefits of open banking beyond the scope of the CMA’s Order. OBL’s work is vital to the ongoing success of open banking. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the FCA, PSR and HM Treasury to help deliver the future arrangements for the space.
“As we move towards this future, we will continue to ensure the standard is maintained and that the nine banking providers are held to their ongoing obligations under the CMA’s Order.”
Driving the next wave of financial innovation
The delivery of VRP for sweeping functionality opens significant opportunities for fintechs to collaborate with these banking providers. It introduces new and innovative financial services to their customers. By leveraging sweeping functionality, third-party providers (TPPs) can help drive the next wave of financial innovation.
Henk Van Hulle, CEO of OBL added: “The rollout of sweeping functionality across all the CMA9 is a crucial step in extending the benefits of open banking to a broader range of customers. As we look ahead, the next exciting chapter will involve exploring the potential of commercial VRPs, which have the capacity to revolutionise the way businesses manage payments. We are eager to see how third-party providers will harness this new capability to drive further innovation in the financial sector.”
Growth of open banking
2024 has been a year of rapid adoption and strong growth for open banking, with 11.32 million users in July, a 12 per cent uplift from the previous month. In terms of payments, 19.54 million payments were made in July, and of these, VRPs for sweeping accounted for 2.45 million – a growth of 23.9 per cent.
Open banking has transformed the payments and data landscape in the UK. It enables customers and small businesses to leverage their current account information securely with TPPs. They can then use that data to tailor their products and services to peoples’ specific financial circumstances. It also offers a new, secure way to pay for goods and services.
The ecosystem is valued at over £4billion, with its userbase expanding. Furthermore, it is supporting the creation of thousands of skilled digital jobs. This growth firmly positions the UK at the forefront of global financial innovation, highlighting the transformative impact of open banking on the economy.
The completion of the roadmap prepares the UK for the next phase of financial innovation as we move beyond the CMA Order. It is also timely, as the Government prepares to introduce the ‘Digital Information and Smart Data Bill’. This is expected to build on the achievements of open banking and deliver the benefits of data sharing to smart data schemes in key economic sectors, including energy, telecoms, transport and retail.
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