1 December 2019

The CRC, and Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) proudly sponsored a conference titled "Who Benefits from Open Banking?" to discuss the real beneficiaries of Open Banking regulation on 28 November 2019.

The seminar was packed with panel attendees and delegates.

Panel Attendees were as follows:

  • Jonathan Crook (Chair), Professor of Business Economics, Deputy Dean and Director of Research, University of Edinburgh Business School, Director of the Credit Research Centre
  • Christian Burgin, CFA, Four Two Strategy Ltd
  • Colin Garland, Director, Remedies, Business and Financial Analysis, Competition and Markets Authority
  • Manuel Peleteiro, Founder, Inbestai

The conference addressed the Open Banking regulation, which went into effect in the United Kingdom in January 2018. The rule compels banks to allow third-party access to an account holder's banking data in an accessible format.

The seminar highlighted the fact that retail and business customers could now have access to new competitively priced products and services and the providers would be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and European counterparts.

Unfortunately, this concept was not universally supported. Some anticipated that it would benefit just the technologically competent and exacerbate financial exclusion for low-income people. The question raised was whether it was reasonable to expect consumers to own their data and receive better deals from banks and other financial service providers and whether personal data revealed in places like social media could be misused. How could the bank be benefited from the regulation?