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There are three remaining items that large UK banks have to put into effect this year, the latest update on the open banking roadmap shows.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published an OBIE Roadmap status update on Wednesday (March 23), detailing key items that the nine largest banks and the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) have yet to implement under the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order.
The outstanding pieces include the implementation of variable recurring payments (VRPs) as the mechanism for sweeping by the nine largest banks and building societies (CMA9).
This will enable end-users to automate the movement of funds between their own accounts, such as moving excess funds into a separate savings account or using them to repay a loan or overdraft account.
VRP has the potential to act as a catalyst of open banking, and the UK is leading the way as almost no other countries have recurring solutions even close to live, experts previously told VIXIO.
The CMA9 banks were originally directed to implement the VRP standard by January this year, but the deadline was later extended to July as the banks were struggling to meet this target.
This means that by that time, banks must have completed the testing of the VRP standard in a live, controlled environment so the firms are ready to progress to the general availability of the standard.
In early March, NatWest’s open banking service Payit became the first provider to successfully carry out a VRP transaction in a live environment.
Banks must also implement consent and access dashboards by September, which are aimed to enable customers to manage all aspects of their consents and access, including when they switch accounts.
Finally, the CMA9 banks have to deliver an enhanced management information submission mechanism by July. This is aimed at ensuring the ecosystem can access and use timely information about the APIs provided by account servicing payment service providers (ASPSPs), primarily banks and building societies.
In addition, there are a number of items that OBIE must complete throughout the year, including issuing a final report on push notifications as part of its consultation on version 3.1.10 of the OBIE standard, and publishing purchase risk guidance.
In a letter published alongside the roadmap, the CMA stressed it is “for the CMA to determine when these items and the roadmap overall are considered complete”.
The agency stated it will take “a reasonable and pragmatic approach” to determining when the implementation of the roadmap is completed.
It will consider the implementation phase as complete when “at least a majority of the CMA9” made VRP and access dashboard changes available for general use by third-party providers, the banks delivered the enhanced management information submission mechanism, and the OBIE completed the remaining outstanding items listed in the updated roadmap.
