Hi all

With the introduction of Open Banking (see below) approaching, has anyone had any experience with it yet?

Does this excite or scare/worry you?

Have you started thinking about this for audit purposes?

What do we need to be doing, or doing differently, in this regard?

Thoughts and opinions would be great.

Thanks

What is Open Banking?

 Open Banking is a legislated initiative that requires Australia's banks give consumers the option to share their data with accredited third parties. Open Banking is designed to increase competition in the financial services sector, promote innovation and provide consumers with more control over their personal and financial data.

Open Banking vs data feeds

“One of the advantages of Open Banking over traditional bank feeds is that it provides a clear framework, process and specification for sharing banking data. Bank account holders can provide consent but can also easily revoke that consent at any time. This means that consumers will have greater control over who can access their banking data and for what purpose.Traditional data feed authority forms are often signed and forgotten about months or years later.  This problem goes away with Open Banking as users can review who has been given access at any time.Additionally, Open Banking provides access to more detailed product information than traditional bank feeds. With Open Banking, users can access transaction data going back several years, allowing for more detailed analysis of their financial history.” 

How can trustees and practitioners prepare for Open Banking? 

Administrators and Advisers should be aware that there will be changes to the consent process and ongoing consent responsibilities of the bank account holders.  SuperMate software users will need to elect a Trusted Advisor for their site such as a registered Tax Agent. Trustees can relax until closer to implementation, however they will need access to online banking to be able to see and approve the sharing of their fund’s banking data with the elected Open Banking Trusted Advisor.