News

FDATA and techUK has announced the outline agenda for the discussion on APIs to be held in London on 23rd March. It is as follows:

Event Host: Keith Saxton, Chairman of techUK

Event Chair: Gavin Littlejohn, Chairman of FDATA

09.00 Registration and coffee

09.30 Opening remarks from Keith Saxton

09.45 Opening remarks from Gavin Littlejohn

10.00 Panel 1: APIs – Further and faster? (Panel chair: Dan Morgan, Innovate Finance)

10.45 Use case demonstrations – Round 1

11.20 Coffee

11.30 Panel 2: APIs – Open vs closed (Panel chair: John Midgley, Intuit)

12.15 Use case demonstrations – Round 2

12.50 Closing remarks from Chair

13.00 Lunch and networking

14.00 Close

Please contact either oisin.merrins@techuk.org or [email protected].uk for more information.

OBWG – The Open Banking Standard

• But industry body says rollout of data into API can be wider and much faster
  

HM Treasury has today published the report of the Open Banking Working Group (OBWG), which it commissioned last August to develop a detailed framework for the design of an open API.

FDATA Executive Director Andy Maciver was a member of the OBWG Steering Group, and FDATA members sat on all six of the sub-groups it created to develop the detailed proposals.

Commenting on the release of the report, Andy Maciver said:

“We were delighted to be involved in this report, the production of which brought together all of the industries required to make open banking a success, including banks, regulators and financial technology bodies.

“We welcome the proposed framework which has been developed – the suggestions for how we operate standards, security and governance are robust and represent a solid foundation on which to build.

“We are also pleased that the banking industry felt able to sign up to a report which makes clear that the passing of data to authorised third parties on behalf of consumers, in order to help them make better financial decisions, is both possible and desirable.

“However, we would restate what we have campaigned on throughout the process; if the UK really is to develop any form of competitive advantage, and be seen as a leader in this field, then we must travel further and faster.

“The recommendation of the report, that some read-only data be available through an API from Q1 2017, with more being available from Q1 2018, and write-access from Q1 2019, effectively copies the timescales required by PSD2.

“We believe that all of a consumer’s financial data across all types of account should be available in an API far more quickly than this, and the technology already exists to make it happen.

“Third party providers of account aggregation and payment initiation services exist because consumers have demanded it. Consumers want a smooth and sophisticated way to analyse and manage their financial lives. They want their financial data – all of it, unredacted and in real time – in one place. Our members provide that for them, and the slower this process is, the longer it will take for the UK to allow its consumers to access the services they want and need.”

Financial Data and Technology Association’s submission to the HMT outlines options for data aggregation industry

The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA), the industry body for financial technology (fintech) companies which give consumers more control over their financial data, has submitted evidence to HM Treasury on its call for evidence on data sharing and open data in banking.

FDATA’s members – six of the leading companies in the industry – use security credentials shared by the user to aggregate their financial life in one place. Our members’ services include:

• aggregating savings and debts to create a holistic analysis of a consumer’s financial situation
• analysing whether it is more efficient to save or to pay off credit
• checking whether the savings or lending rate on a product can be bettered elsewhere

Welcoming the Treasury’s general approach on the issue, FDATA made the following points, amongst others, in its submission:

• the market for financial data aggregation is far more open and advanced in other countries, notably the US, than it is here in the UK
• the industry would benefit from the addition of standard and non-standard APIs to the market, in addition to the currently well-used screen-scraping technology
• financial institutions, technical providers and data aggregators need to agree with government and regulators a set of minimum industry standards for operating as an aggregator in an open data era

The full submission can be read here.

Commenting, FDATA director Andy Maciver said:

“Our members provide an incredibly valuable service to the personal and small business markets, allowing them to manage all their accounts, of different types and with different providers, in one place.

“It is a testament to the services our members provide that they have built a large customer base despite the environment for open data not yet being a friendly one. Ensuring that this market can operate to the fullest of its ability will provide an environment for a revolution in money management.

“The era of openness in financial data must now be ushered in. We want consumers to benefit from our members’ services and we want to be at the centre of a thriving new British fintech industry legitimised and underpinned by strict standards of practice.”

FDATA submission response to HMTs call for evidence on data sharing and open data in banking – 25.2.2015

Financial Data and Technology Association’s submission to the FCA provides pathway to open access to aggregation services

The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA), the industry body for financial technology (fintech) companies which give consumers more control over their financial data, has submitted evidence to the FCA on its cash savings market study.

FDATA’s members – six of the leading companies in the industry – use security credentials shared by the user to aggregate their financial life in one place. Our members’ services include:

• aggregating savings and debts to create a holistic analysis of a consumer’s financial situation
• analysing whether it is more efficient to save or to pay off credit
• checking whether the savings or lending rate on a product can be bettered elsewhere

FDATA made the following points, amongst others, in its submission:

• the market for financial data aggregation is far more open and advanced in other countries, notably the US, than it is here in the UK
• large numbers of consumers are dissuaded from using our members’ services as a result of banks’ and financial institutions’ restrictive Ts&Cs
• there has been no single fraud or data security breach as a result of a UK aggregation service
• we want to coalesce the industry and create a set of minimum industry standards for operating as an aggregator in an open data era

The full submission can be read here.

Commenting, FDATA director Andy Maciver said:

“Our members provide an incredibly valuable service to the personal and small business markets, allowing them to manage all their accounts, of different types and with different providers, in one place.

“It is a testament to the services our members provide that they have built a large customer base despite many consumers’ banks and account providers attempting to frighten them off using aggregation.

“The era of openness in financial data must now be ushered in. We want consumers to benefit from our members’ services without being held in breach of terms and conditions and we want to be at the centre of a thriving new British fintech industry legitimised and underpinned by strict standards of practice.”

FDATA submission response to FCA cash savings market study – 18.2.2015

The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA), the industry body for financial technology (fintech) companies which give consumers more control over their financial data, has welcomed the Treasury’s call for evidence on open data and open banking, and committed to responding to it.

The call for evidence was pledged in the Autumn report, which announced “support for fintech firms who want to use bank data to help consumers and small businesses make better decisions”.

Announcing the call for evidence, City Minister Andrea Leadsom MP highlighted the benefits to consumers of making it easier for them to use their data, a point with which FDATA wholeheartedly agrees.

Commenting, FDATA Director Peter Duncan said:

“We welcome this call for evidence and will be responding positively on behalf of the data aggregation industry to ensure that an era of open data can make it easier for consumers and small businesses to manage their money.”

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published its Cash savings market study, which covers both problems in the sector and proposed remedies.

One set of remedies, the Convenience Remedies, relate directly to the work of FDATA members in the area of financial data aggregation. FDATA has been in private discussions with the FCA and has welcomed the following extract from the report:

“This remedy would seek to lower barriers that restrict account aggregators (those providers offering facilities to manage accounts online, not price comparison websites) from offering account management services to consumers.”

Commenting on the report, which has asked for responses by 18th February, FDATA’s Director Andy Maciver said:

“This was a thorough and impressive piece of work and our members were delighted to see the proposed convenience remedies. Convenience, and the ability to manage money more easily and make better financial decisions, is the role which our member companies provide to personal and small business consumers.

“We look forward to submitting a reply to explain in full how we believe the FCA can help bring down the barriers in this market.”

ENDS