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Open banking products are being used by 7m UK customers, it has been announced, five years on from the regulatory requirements introduced by the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2).
Open Banking Limited (OBL), the entity responsible for the implementation of open banking in the UK, has announced that the number of consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) actively using open banking services in the UK has reached 7m for the first time.
“Open banking is good for the nation, increasing competition and allowing consumers and SMEs to benefit from new and innovative ways to manage their financial lives,” said OBL chair Marion King.
King, who began in the role last month, said that it is encouraging to see that many people have been empowered to take advantage of the benefits of open banking.
“As we await key recommendations on the future vision for open banking from the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee, this strong growth underlines the need to continue the momentum so that the many benefits of open banking are developed, promoted, and made available to millions more of our citizens,” she said.
User numbers are reported to the OBL by the CMA9, the banks and building society mandated under the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017 (CMA Order) to implement open banking in the UK, and figures for January show that the combined figure was more than 7m.
“I am delighted that we have now reached seven million active open banking users in the UK,” said Henk Van Hulle, OBL chief.
It is significant that 1.2m of these are first-time users, he noted. “From access to cost-effective credit, building a regular savings habit or making more informed financial decisions. Open banking is delivering the means for our citizens to improve their financial wellbeing.”
The latest OBL data also reveals significant growth in payments initiation using open banking.
Total open banking payments jumped 171 percent in 2022, although volumes are still comparatively low, totalling 68m for the year.
To put this in perspective, this is equivalent to just 0.2 percent of total non-cash payments in the UK, according to VIXIO analysis.
In spite of this, industry representatives seem pleased with the new announcement.
“This is an amazing milestone, showing how the products and services enabled by open banking are finding a place in people's everyday life,” Niliixa Devlukia, chair of the Open Finance Association, told VIXIO. “The Open Finance Association is working with government and industry to help continue this growth and success.”
Last month, OBL announced the completion of the CMA Open Banking Roadmap.
Following a report from Charlotte Crosswell, the then implementation trustee, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that it had determined that the UK’s largest banking providers — Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander — have now implemented all the requirements of the Open Banking Roadmap, meaning that the roadmap is “substantially complete”.
