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Open Banking: Will I Really Have Control Of My Data?

As a customer, one of the big selling points of Open Banking is giving me control of my financial data.

Is this really true?

Having reviewed the latest European Open Banking specifications there is plenty of data I should be able to get hold of.

The question is how?

I get the fact I will be able to use aggregator apps to view my total financial position. I am sure a combination of apps will give me a decent picture of the data my various banks hold.

What if I don’t want to use an intermediary to access my data?

What if I just want a plain old excel download of all the data my banks will be making available to AISPs and PSPs to do my own analysis?

Where do I get it from?

As a coder, what if I want to write my own apps to access my own data, how can I do this without having to go through various regulatory hurdles?

Will the regulators and banks help me do this? Or can I not be trusted with my own data?

Lots of questions. Anyone know the answers?

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Comments: (3)

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 22 December, 2017, 08:42Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

Hi Kenneth - Its great that you have an interest from a consumer angle. One of the things really lacking from this legislation is interest or feedback from consumers. Barclays have started some awarness campaigns but it needs more from industry if we are to see real adoption. The point about control is a good one and in theory you should be able to opt-in in your banking information for a range of relevant transactions i.e. its your choice. At the other end clearly service providers need to deliver some incentive to do so. The reason you won't be able to code your own APIs is one of security where only authorised and regulated entities are able to access your data on your behalf. I'm no techie but I understand there are some tight security controls in this process which won't include consumers being able to access their own data in this way. Strictly speaking you can as you say download transactions via your bank's web app into excel and do the analysis yourself. However unless you have the rules that the service providers use to analyse your spending / saving it will be difficult to replicate. There should be however someway to understand why certain decisions have been made on your behalf if your not happy with the outcome. Dave

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 23 December, 2017, 14:29Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes Hi Dave. Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated.
Sreeram Yegappan
Sreeram Yegappan - Cognizant - London 03 January, 2018, 13:38Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

There is a proposal mooted by the PSF for a centralised payments repository which might be the answer to your question in a few years time.. Its not in the current scope but I do think it can be easily extended provided security and consent rules are met

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