In September 2015, the Open Banking Working Group (OBWG) was set up at the request of HM Treasury. Its aim? To explore how data could be used to help people to transact, save, borrow, lend and invest their money. Making it possible to share data that banks have historically held will improve people’s banking experience.
When securely shared or published openly using open APIs, the data can be used to build useful applications and resources to help people find what they need. Customers can look for a mortgage more easily, banks can find customers matched to a new product, and businesses can share data with their accountants. This, in turn, will improve efficiency and stimulate innovation.
The OBWG has set out an Open Banking Standard to guide how open banking data should be created, shared and used by its owners and those who access it. You can find an introduction to the Open Banking Standard below, and access the full industry report here [PDF].