NatWest’s ‘Open Banking Perspectives’ e-book published

Initiated in 2017 by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Open Banking was originally perceived, by some, as purely a compliance obligation. However, our NatWest specialists- Claire Melling, Portfolio Owner, Bank of APIs, NatWest Group; Stephen Wright, Head of Regulation and Standards, Bank of APIs; and Andy Batty, Bank of APIs Ops and Engagement Lead – are clear: “Many banks have taken what started as a substantial compliance obligation as an opportunity to review business processes and adopt new digital methods, spurring digital innovation.”

Looking at Open Banking in other jurisdictions, our specialists highlight in our e-book how independent application programming interface (API) strategies in other countries have sometimes caused fragmentation, while the UK focused on regulation to deliver API banking to a consistent industry standard – and as a result, seeing a better uptake of Open Banking than in other markets.

They also explain how Open Banking in the UK – which has helped to create the world’s second largest fintech community with over 1,600 firms and over 76,000 jobs, contributing an estimated $13.4 billion (£11 billion) to the UK economy[2] – has not only delivered for consumers and SMEs, but has also helped corporates and the banking sector by offering enhanced cash visibility, improved security, and data integrity.

Looking into the future, the e-book offers insights into how open data could create real customer value in other industries, and how Open Banking could evolve to Open Finance, allowing consumers and SMEs to authorise third parties to access their data and initiate financial transactions on their behalf.

Finally, our specialists also critically assess one of the biggest Open Banking challenges: the search for transformational apps.

For more information, please speak to your usual NatWest representative or visit https://www.bankofapis.com/