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In an exclusive interview with Vixio, Henk Van Hulle, chief executive of Open Banking Limited (OBL), welcomed the Data Use and Access Bill and suggested that his organisation could act as the body overseeing standards.
On October 24, the UK government unveiled the new bill, building on previous iterations that had been introduced by the Conservative administration but failed to pass.
The bill fulfils a key government manifesto commitment by creating conditions to support the future of open banking and new smart data schemes, expanding into sectors such as energy.
"The future entity could serve as an overarching standards-setting body, establishing standards across different sectors,” said Van Hulle.
He said that the OBL could expand beyond this as well, if necessary.
“If needed, it could also act on behalf of the regulator to implement interventions, ensuring a secure, watertight ecosystem by requesting guidance and directives from the regulator."
In its announcement, the new Labour government said that new data laws will boost the UK economy by £10bn over the next decade.
For this to happen, standards will need to be comprehensive and interoperable to ensure that cross-sectoral data sharing is a success.
In the short term, the bill provides the next steps in the roadmap for the UK’s open banking framework, which was left in a state of equilibrium after the last government’s legislation failed to pass prior to parliament being dissolved in the run-up to this summer’s general election campaign.
The next steps for open banking
“It has been a long time coming,” said Van Hulle, commenting on the new bill.
“This legislation establishes a sustainable model for open banking, particularly in terms of data access, allowing everyone to benefit,” he said.
“It enables a regulatory footing to ensure that data exchange is held to rigorous standards and processes, empowering regulators to enforce compliance.”
According to Van Hulle, the legislation “represents a significant step forward in levelling up open banking, making data accessible and beneficial for end users".
To ensure success, Van Hulle told Vixio, there is a need to focus on practical use cases, such as health and digital identity.
“We need to establish a centralised body to set standards and develop a unified scheme to prevent any rogue players,” he said. “Adherence to these standards is essential, as standardisation across the sector is crucial. Cross-sectorally, we must safeguard data integrity.”
Wider use and interoperability
Beyond open banking, Van Hulle suggested that areas such as savings, pensions and investments should be included to enable consumers to view all their financial information in one place.
“We’re advancing across various sectors, verticals, data sets and horizontal applications. Payments, in particular, will play a critical cross-sector role, and this is part of our ongoing work with the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee.”
Van Hulle said it is vital that interoperability is achieved.
For example, in the UK, there are currently 52 players in digital ID verification, highlighting the need for unified standards. “Otherwise, we risk working in a fragmented way that undermines a seamless customer experience.”
“Building trust in the system is crucial, as is addressing consent management, which is currently handled on a one-to-one basis,” he said.
“We want to explore how consent can be transferred across applications, making it easier for users to adopt additional products.”
In this regard, he suggested that concepts such as tokenisation and digital wallets hold “significant potential”.
The need for action
The success of the bill and what it can achieve hinges on these sorts of issues, and there is a need for government, regulators and industry to act quickly and pragmatically in achieving smart data sharing.
There is also a need for them to get consumer and business buy-in, so that these parts of the ecosystem are able to trust the processes in question.
Otherwise, much of the admin and paperwork that it is attempting to reduce will simply carry on.
"This bill has to work, and we need to build trust,” said Van Hulle. “We have created a vibrant, trusted ecosystem, but continued trust and security are essential.”
Here, he said that high-quality application programming interfaces and standards are crucial to ensure further adoption.
“Participants in the ecosystem need a clear purpose, and customer protection must be maintained throughout the entire process.”
