To be part of the new open-banking scenario in the U.K., companies need regulatory approvals. The term "open banking" was coined in the United Kingdom where a new set of regulations took effect in January 2018 that mandate the sharing of customer-authorized account information between different commercial entities to effect payments and other transactions. Open banking takes the process a step beyond simple data exchanges to support account-to-account payments, often in real time. "It's about extending banking to nontraditional places," Ramaswamy said.Ĭollaborative data sharing is pretty widespread already, thanks to APIs, intelligent conduits that banks use to support seamless integrations with third-party digital applications, such as financial management programs for mobile banking. Open banking is the moniker hung on a new service model that makes it possible for customers to authorize nonbanks they do business with to access their bank accounts in support of payments and other financial transactions. Yet initial steps toward this eventuality are occurring already with the emergence of application programming interfaces (APIs), particularly in places like the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe where open banking and related regulatory edicts have become hot-button issues. In an era when technology advancements are discussed in terms of months, not years, 10 to 15 years can seem an eternity. "You have to think in terms of 10 to 15 years from now," added Rod Hometh, Partner at RPY Innovations, the payment company formerly known as RocketPay. Banks first need to start thinking in terms of new partnerships, revenue models and technology investments needed to support these changes, he said. "It will move slowly," said Niranjan Ramaswamy, Vice President, Product Management, Bank Solutions, at banking technology firm Fiserv Inc.
Credit and debit cards continue to replace cash and checks as preferred methods of payment, and many experts expect card payments will give way to new and faster ways to pay. The ways consumers shop and pay for purchases have been in flux for years.