Celebrating a major milestone for UK Open Banking

We’re all getting back to work this month refreshed and rejuvenated after a long summer holiday. Yet there’s always time for another celebration! This month, we’re toasting the incredible success of the UK Open Banking ecosystem.

At the end of August, Open Banking helped us prepare to start September with a bang by releasing figures which show that:

• A record-breaking 11.4 million Open Banking payments were made in July 2023 - a 9.3% increase in total payments compared with the previous month.
• In July the number of active payment users surged to 4.2 million - a substantial 10.5% rise from June 2023.
• Total payments doubled in 2023 with a 102.4% growth rate.
• Single domestic payments recorded 10.5 million transactions in July - an 8% increase from June. HM Revenue & Customs pioneering "Pay By Bank Option" is a major growth driver.
• The top use cases in the UK are account top-ups, credit card bill payments and e-commerce.

Remarkable progress and we're only at the beginning of the story.

Read on for more news about all the exciting work taking place in our growing global community of 34,000+ pioneers in Open Banking and Open Finance.

Coming up: A Universal Digital Identity For The UK: Myth or Soon-To-Be Reality? 

Join us at 4 pm on Thursday 21st September to discuss an issue that’s a major sticking point waiting to be overcome: digital ID.

The UK has been unable - or unwilling - to introduce a true and universally accepted form of digital identification, despite the many benefits a solution would bring to businesses and consumers.

We’ll be gathering around the Campfire to discuss why Open Banking is a solution which bridges the gap left by the lack of a digital ID in Britain and ask whether a digital ID in the UK is a genuine proposition or a pipe dream.

Reserve your place here

Meet our panel of experts:

Security & Third-Party Risk RoundtableThe Cybersecurity Roundtable You Can’t Afford To Miss!

If you’re not thinking about your organisation’s security - rest assured the bad guys are. 

We’ve teamed up with the industry-leading cybersecurity experts at NCC Group for a masterclass exploring threats in our sector and how to respond. 

We’ll be looking back in time to uncover some of the challenges that emerged during Open Banking’s five-year journey, considering what should be done differently going forward and providing actionable advice for ecosystem players who want to deliver world-class cybersecurity.

Date: 28th September at 1:30 pm.

Reserve your place now

We flew to Mexico at the end of August to speak at the country’s first-ever Fintech Week and discuss the findings of The Global Open Finance Index.

A huge thanks to the hosts who invited us to this incredible country and everyone we met on the way, including the Mexican Ministry of Finance (SHCP), the Mexican Central Bank (Banxico), the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

Open Banking was #MadeInTheUK and we’re now exporting it across the world, sharing knowledge and helping other ecosystems to flourish.

We’ll keep you updated about our travels in this new section in the newsletter... The topic of our keynote at FinTech Week was: “Open Finance: Doing well by doing good.” Watch the full speech on YouTube

It’s been a busy summer for the bright minds of our community.

Here are the superb blogs we published in August:

• Salesforce : The Risks and Rewards of Generative AI In Financial Services by Paul O'Sullivan
• Generating New Issues – Demystifying Generative AI and its Legal Footprint by Eversheds Sutherland
• Open Banking in France: Opportunities, Challenges & Recommendations by Sarin Boivin-Picard
• HM Revenue & Customs : Made In Britain: The World’s First (And Best) Public Sector Open Banking Use Case by Greta Akintoye
• Plaid : Open Banking Can Bridge The Advice Gap and Boost Financial Inclusion by Ripsy Bandourian

Today's taxpayers are forking out double the amount recipients put in. Kevin Hollister , Founder of Guiide , tells the Daily Express .

OBE is behind many of the Open Banking stories you see in Tier One media and the fintech press.

We’ve secured coverage for our clients on Sky News, the Financial Times, Bloomberg Radio and TV, FT Advisor, MSN, Finextra TV, Alt-Fi, The Paypers, Fintech Finance, and many more.  

Contact our Head of Global Press Office, Becci Furnell or email her directly at becci@openbankingexcellence.org to discuss your PR needs and share your message with the world.

Pass the Mic Campaign

Open Banking Excellence (OBE) promised to aim for gender parity at our Campfires.

Data from our good friends at Innovate Finance report shows that the fintech industry has some way to go on diversity, with women making up 28% of the total number of people working in the industry.

We’re doing our bit by asking both men and women to encourage the female talent around them to step forward and let their voices be heard.

Read about the Pass The Mic campaign and nominate an inspirational female.

Together, we can make a difference!