Green shoots are finally emerging for open banking
Depending on who you talk to, open banking in Australia is on the point of acceleration or the pause in its rollout is a welcome chance to improve data quality.
Open banking in Australia is finally exhibiting early signs of the network effects that have played out in other countries such as the UK, signalling an upwards shift in what many see as frustratingly slow progress for the reform.
The concept of open banking enables customers to share their personal banking data with accredited third parties, making it easier to switch between banks (akin to porting a mobile phone number).
While it was introduced in 2020, progress has been relatively slow compared to the UK where it is considered a major success. Data from the UK open banking organisation showed in the six months to June 2023, more than 1 in 9 British consumers were active users of open banking, an increase from 7% in December 2021.
But according to 2023 research cited by Deloitte, showing 55% of Australian consumers have never heard of open banking and only 6% claimed to have a good understanding of the concept.
