The State of Open Banking Research Report 2019
Open banking is now a reality in Europe and the UK. For Banks and FinTechs, meeting the PSD2 (Revised Payment Service Directive) requirements means enabling their customers, both consumers and businesses, to use third-party providers to help manage their finances. To make this possible they need to open up and share their customer data with third-party software providers to encourage innovation and make room for new services and applications in their application ecosystem. The State of Open Banking Report identifies trends and insights from over 200 IT decision-makers in today’s UK and European markets.
With 1 in 5 companies focused on being compliant with open banking, the majority (56%) of financial services companies say they are also committed to transforming their business by introducing new services that integrate their customers’ financial lives. One of the major technical considerations is the APIs that put data at the center of their business integrations.
Identifying the challenges, next steps and the role of API integration
While many Financial Services companies have an API strategy, most don’t realize that simply connecting applications via APIs is not the answer. Creating and implementing a virtualized API integration strategy that puts data at the center of their application ecosystem is the key to keeping up with FinTechs and other competitors who have a head start towards transformation.
| 8IN10 | Financial Services companies agree that API integration is critical to their open banking strategy |
Getting started has its challenges. Facing this transformation to open banking, many traditional banks and financial services companies view risk aversion as a barrier to change and innovation. They also see the lack of technical resources and skills as a roadblock to implementing an integration strategy. In general, CEOs and CTOs have different perspectives on these challenges, however, they both believe that their competitors are more advanced with regards to their own integration strategies.
| CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENT A SCALABLE API INTEGRATION STRATEGY |
CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENT OPEN BANKING |
| 43% CEOs The inability to experiment with innovative solutions. |
CEOs |
| 47% CTOs Lack of time, skills and resources. |
CTOs |
The 2019 State of Open Banking Report features data collected from over 200 IT decision makers working in UK-based banks, FinTechs and other financial institutions with companies ranging in size from 100 to 1000+ employees. The titles of the respondents include CEO, CTO, Chief Innovation Office, Chief Digital Office and Chief Product Officer. Their responses identify the trends surrounding the state of open banking in the UK and Europe and the transformation of the customer experience.
