Advisory Group on open finance

In our Business Plan[1], we committed to setting up an Advisory Group to drive forward the future strategy of open finance while taking stock of open banking successes. The group met for the first time on 29 July 2019.

The revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2)[2] mandated the right of access to payment account data to increase innovation and competition in the payments sector. Together with open banking, it enables customers to consent to third parties accessing their payment account information or to make payments on their behalf.

Open finance could build on this by enabling similar access to a wider range of financial products. It could, for example, improve the financial health of consumers and businesses by enabling them to see all of their accounts from different suppliers in one place and helping them to manage savings, loans, investments and pensions. It could facilitate switching products or transferring funds between products to maximise the interest received, possibly doing so automatically. It could also facilitate access to financial advice and credit.

Advisory Group membership

The Advisory Group consists of industry experts, consumer and business representatives, as well as academics and government departments. Over the coming months, the Advisory Group will consider:

• how open finance will develop
• barriers to its development
• the ethical and practical issues around data sharing

Sheldon Mills, chair of the Advisory Group and Director of Competition at the FCA, said:

'Open finance has the potential to revolutionise the way financial markets work for consumers, delivering significant consumer benefits, improving competition within financial services sectors and spurring greater innovation. We want to ensure that open finance develops in the interest of consumers and competition. Establishing the Advisory Group will help us achieve this.'

The publications below are the Advisory Group’s advice to the FCA and do not necessarily reflect the views of the FCA. However they will inform our views, alongside the responses to our Call for Input on open finance[3].

• Advice note: Data Rights Advisory Group on open finance[4]
• Advice note: Cohesion and Interoperability Advisory Group on open finance[5]
• Advice note: Incentives Advisory Group on open finance[6]

Advisory Group members: