Here’s what it means for financial service providers and their customers.
The deal with GoCo Group PLC is set to provide the infrastructure for banks to help their customers save money by switching energy providers without leaving their bank app.
Since the roll out of the Open Banking regulations in 2018, banks and startups have been working together to create aggregated experiences and PFM tools but it is fast becoming clear that these are now just table stakes for institutions that want to keep pace with the digital challengers. The question is, what comes next?
Almost every day, we find ourselves giving the same advice to banks. Open Banking, whilst a powerful tool for the industry, is meaningless to customers unless it actually affects their lives.
That’s the significance of deals like this. They demonstrate that the infrastructure and partnerships are in place to deliver. They paint a picture of what is possible and how banks can use that to help people in ways that build a more loyal customer base and create revenue at the same time.
The new service will use Bud’s platform including its Open Banking APIs and AI services alongside GoCompare’s Energy Comparison and Switching APIs to recognise and compare utility bill payments. Should a bank customer choose to switch provider they will then be able to do so without ever leaving the bank’s app.
Why is it needed?
Almost two in three of all energy customers in the UK aren’t engaged with their supplier.
According to research from Ofgem, this is one of the main factors contributing towards more than 14 million UK households stuck on expensive energy tariffs.
The potential for services like this is that by introducing the switch in the right context (e.g. after a high energy bill,) and by reducing the effort involved in switching (by pre-filling a considerable fraction of the necessary forms,) we can start to have a more significant impact on the largely flat switching market in the UK. At the same time we can align the value chain by providing both banks and comparison sites with a new revenue stream.
How does it work?
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The service uses Bud’s energy API to identify payments and estimate energy use. Quotes are then retrieved from GoCompare using the data provided and, if a quote is selected, a fulfilment endpoint initiates the switch without the user having to leave the app.
What technology is used?
Energy API — intelligent identification of energy payments from anonymised data and estimation of usage
Merchant Identification API — accurate identification of utility providers
Network APIs: Utility Switching — seamless and secure switching service, working in conjunction with our energy partners
For more information regarding Utility Switching, or a detailed download via our API documentation, get in touch.
