Consumer awareness of Open Banking at major low, spelling traditional banking demise

If no one knows about it, how might this affect platforms who want to reap the benefits?

As we prepare for the staggered implementation of Open Banking, which begins on January 13^th, data has come to light that shows awareness of the new regulations is running dangerously low.

New research by Which? has found that 92 per cent of consumers haven’t even heard of Open Banking, despite its implications for their banking data.

The new regulations will allow consumers to share their banking data with third parties, such as other banks, products and services, and supports the efforts of many alternative finance platforms that are seeking to simplify the personal finance sector.

Money management app Yolt says its users “will find their experience turbocharged” when the rules come into effect, enabling them to hold all their banking information in once place to better track spending and compare products.

“There has naturally been a level of uncertainty around Open Banking, as you would expect with any technological and finance-related change of this scale,” said Yolt CEO Frank Jan Risseeuw.

“Contactless payments were once a brand-new initiative which some people were unsure about, but this payment method now accounts for a third of all card transactions in the UK.”

Meanwhile business banking app Countingup is predicting a fintech boom as a result of Open Banking, after noting that 5 out of the 9 big UK banks have announced they will miss the January deadline for compliance with the regulations.

CEO Tim Fouracre commented: “It’s no surprise HSBC et al are dragging their heels into Open Banking. It’s going to kill them. We already know their point of contact with customers is on the decline as the branch network erodes away.

“Open Banking is the end of high street banking as we know it.”