The financial industry has changed significantly over the past several years. Thanks to new and innovative technology, banking institutions can develop new platforms and services to stay competitive and maintain customer loyalty. Online banking and personalized apps have become the norm, leading to new products and services and the rapid adoption of open banking and open finance initiatives. This article will explore what these shifts mean for financial institutions and consumers.
What is Open Banking?
Open Banking refers to the process of enabling third-party financial providers to gain access to consumer data, transactions, and other relevant information, directly from banks and non-bank financial institutions. This is done through application programming interfaces (APIs). This process enables consumers to benefit from enhanced and personalized services. For example, through open banking, moneylenders can get a clearer picture of a consumer’s financial situation and offer more profitable loan terms. In addition, consumers can also get a clearer view of their own finances before taking a loan.
Security: A Major Concern for Financial Institutions
Even though the rise of open finance creates many opportunities for financial institutions, concerns about compliance and security have also come into sharp focus. In a report published by Curity, Facilitating the Future of Open Finance, over 71% of the 200 institutions surveyed are concerned with security-related issues. The most prominent concern is the lack of modern systems that support the requirements of securely sharing data. In addition, user data privacy and data protection are essential requirements that financial institutions need to consider when bringing in new customers. Some examples of these regulations include:
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe,
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in California,
- Australian Privacy Principles (APP) in Australia, an
- Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) in Brazil.
These laws ensure that user data privacy is safeguarded. In addition to these mandates, certain open banking regulations require the adoption of financial-grade security protocols. These standards make sure that financial institutions can deliver new services without jeopardizing the consumer’s financial data.
The Main Challenges in Adopting Open Banking
In order to ensure secure data sharing in open banking, organizations need to address the following:
- Manage external third-party providers
- Hire staff with relevant skills
- Update outdated systems
- Become familiar with a wide range of regulatory requirements
- Allocate the necessary internal investment
All of the above challenges are important in preserving business integrity, gaining the consumer’s trust, and avoiding data breaches that can have a catastrophic long-term impact on financial institutions and consumers. Adopting open banking and financial-grade security solutions is vital in protecting services and adapting to regulatory and customer demands.
The Importance of Consumer Adoption
Consumer adoption plays a major role in the future of open banking. Organizations need to address the hesitations that consumers may have and educate them on what benefits open banking brings them. They also need to take into account any concerns consumers may have concerning security to ensure consumers feel confident that solutions and services offered are appropriately protected and can be trusted. Thus secure authentication methods are paramount in enhancing consumer confidence in open banking. Organizations must communicate data privacy and how it is secured in a simple and easy-to-understand manner to facilitate trust in how financial and personal information is protected in open banking solutions. Lastly, and most importantly, consumer adoption of open banking services is vital for the future of the initiative.
Executive Leadership
Another critical aspect of the future success of open banking is executive leadership. Despite 5 million people in the UK currently using open banking, according to the OBIE, we're still far from mass adoption. For this to happen, executive leadership will be equally, if not more, important than ever. Without leaders within the financial institutions embracing this change and understanding the opportunities afforded by open banking, adoption would fall at the first hurdle.
To their credit, many senior executives within financial organizations saw the opportunity before them. Curity's research highlighted that maintaining and improving business competitiveness (58%) and delivering new products and services (55%) were the sector's top two motivators for adoption. In addition, the fact that consumer demand came in third (48%) indicates that some financial institutions were more reactive than proactive when adopting open finance. However, the ability to navigate a period of drastic change shouldn't be underestimated, and top-down buy-in has undoubtedly played a crucial role in the adoption of open finance to date.
The Future of Open Banking
Open banking has had a significant impact on the financial sector already and still has immense potential to continue to be a transformative force. However, this transformation will not occur by itself. To realize the true potential of open banking, the same focus and enthusiasm that drove the initial growth is required from banks, financial institutions, cybersecurity professionals, and businesses.
Open banking stakeholders must continue to develop and deploy innovative solutions and invest in new technology and offer appropriate training. Organizations can harness the potential of open banking through a business structure that is grounded in technology.