What’s next for Open Banking? 7 learnings from Money 20/20

This year’s conference provided a lot of talking points around the future of finance and how open banking is set to evolve. Here are a few key takeaways, as selected by our team.

At this year’s Money 20/20 EU Bud transformed a corner of the conference into our very own HQ, boasting a stellar roster of speakers — from Marcus by Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Monzo — as well as providing free consultations on how to commercialise open banking.

Here are a few quick-fire learnings we picked up from across the event, and what they mean for the future of personal finance:

Open Banking reaches 40 Million consumers in the UK

With more open banking-based companies in attendance than any previous year, it’s clear to see that organisations are taking it seriously — although it is fair to say that there is still a long way to go to bridge to mainstream.

Incumbent banks are ‘operating with a greater sense of urgency’

Banks understand that open banking can assist with customer onboarding, retention and satisfaction. As more fintechs make their mark, there is an appetite for greater collaboration across the board. Banks are looking to improve customer value by adding a roster of fintech services to their existing financial expertise.

Credit and responsible lending are huge opportunities within Open Banking

Transactional data unlocks a huge potential for greater transparency and increased responsibility in the credit decision-making process. Banks we are speaking with are exploring these issues and this year, some will be ready to scale.

New technology trends emerge

Key technical trends that were identified: enhanced transactional data enrichment (beyond basic PFM solutions); connected marketplaces (such as Bud’s API-integrated partners) and increased distribution of products (better lending and cross-selling opportunities). More and more, aggregation seems to be the lowest common denominator.

People — not technology, KPIs or the bottom line — dictate the product roadmap

Now more than ever, enabling consumers to live the financial life they want to lead is a priority for the industry. Banks now employ product managers, focusing (almost obsessively) on customer needs, where they once employed project managers.

The greater focus on ‘good customer outcomes’ means that services like categorisation and aggregation will be table stakes. The winners will be the ones that place users at the heart of their approach and focus on delivering tangible customer value.

Banking’s holy grail is a combination of personalisation and relevance

Part of this ‘people first’ dynamic is the ability to make banking more contextual. Aggregation, as we know, can be made more powerful. Customers want assistance or insight around their spending and saving — and access to products when they need them that can help them achieve their goals.

The banking system of the future will be connected

It is becoming more evident with every month that passes that APIs are becoming more and more intrinsic to the future success of financial organisations.

Whether producing them or consuming them, APIs allow for a close-to-seamless melding of services. Banks that are looking to out-pace their competitors are embedding new services into apps and websites, choosing to partner over doing it themselves. An increasing number of companies are realising the impact a solid API strategy can have on their business.

If you want to discuss these, or any other open banking related questions, feel free to get in touch with our team.