Plend hails power of open banking on anniversary
Peer-to-peer lending platform Plend has praised the power of open banking on the fifth anniversary of the data-sharing technology.
The anniversary also marks the completion of the open banking roadmap, with the six largest banking providers in the UK – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander – now having implemented all of the requirements outlined by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
There are now more than 6.5 million active users of open banking-enabled products in the UK, via their banking products and fintech options such as P2P lending.
“Open banking creates an incredibly important opportunity to level the playing field for access to financial services through better uses of data,” said Jamie Pursaill, chief technology officer and co-founder at Plend.
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“Using open banking has enabled us to gather a clearer, more accurate view of recent financial activity from which a truly individualised assessment can be made.
“People who are overwhelmed by their finances can find it hard to collect the comprehensive information financial experts need in order to help them restructure things. Open banking data can do it for them: comprehensively, neutrally and automatically.”
The Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) was established to aid the rollout of open banking across the UK. Now that the initial roadmap has been completed, the joint regulatory oversight committee will create a new entity to manage the next stage of open banking.
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“As we look back over the last five years, our thriving ecosystem should be immensely proud of the financial innovation and benefits they have delivered to consumers and businesses,” said Charlotte Crosswell, chair and trustee of the OBIE.
“Not only is this helping millions of people across the UK with their day-to day financial management, but crucially, their ability to navigate the impact of the pandemic, rising cost of living and other unexpected financial shocks.”
Henk Van Hulle, chief executive of the OBIE, added that there is still more to do to build on these “strong foundations, so we can continue to build the best environment for open banking to reach its full potential.”
Read more: FCA updates on open banking progress