City A.M. reports that The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) is stepping up its calls for the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to force banks to be more open in their sharing of the consumer data they hold. Based in London, Coadec describes itself as “the policy voice of tech startups and scaleups”.
According to City A.M, Coadec told their reporter, Michiel Williams, that the watchdog should:
“‘break banks’ and create a more transparent open banking environment, allowing other entities than banks to engage in interfaces through which data about customers, accounts and transactions are shared”.
In November, Coadec published recommendations aimed at the UK government which it called “a blueprint for open finance that puts customers first”. Their report outlines 4 key recommendations for government:
- The Government must grant consumers a new data sharing right that empowers them to own and share their financial data once again;
- The Government must remove the 90-day re-authentication rule. It is an unnecessary barrier that is preventing consumers from accessing better financial services;
- The FCA must pursue a market-led, principles-based regulatory framework for Open Finance;
- The quick-wins for Open Finance will be in the savings, credit, mortgages and pensions markets, and the FCA must make these the first sectors to open up their data first to consumers via open source APIs.