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Mark Zelmer's independent review into the UK's Co-operative Bank provides one of the first clear critiques of new regulations designed to stabilise the banking system, particularly the risk of bank runs and the role of open banking in the allocation of capital.

South Korea's financial industry will step forward to introduce a general-use digital financial transaction protocol this year so that fintech (financial technology) companies can share financial data and build innovative business models.

Open X refers to a new operational age where the financial services industry is moved onto a shared ecosystem or marketplace. In this new paradigm, players leverage data extensively and collaborate with other players to provide customers with a seamless experience.

With PSD2's Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) deadline fast approaching, Swedish open banking platform Tink is claiming that European lenders have failed to provide the proper technology environment for third party providers to access payments data as required by the new law.

Australia's competition watchdog has finalised the rules governing Consumer Data Right regulations, paving the way for the introduction of Open Banking in the country.

The European Data Portal released a new study on the value created by open data across Europe and builds on the EDP's 2015 report "Creating Value through Open Data".

The report that follows provides an overview of what the Committee heard from stakeholders and learned from its examination of consumer-directed finance in other jurisdictions, formal recommendations and considerations for next steps.

Fidelity spun off its data-aggregation business, Akoya, into its own company, giving financial institutions another tool to securely share customer data with third-party financial apps. Akoya collects data from banks on its network and provides a single entry point for third-party apps and data aggregators, such as Plaid and Yodlee. Akoya will be owned and operated by Fidelity, 11 major banks and The Clearing House. Some industry groups view the spin-off as a threat to competition because the new arrangement gives banks too much control of consumer data.

Banco Central do Brasil will start implementing open banking rules in November. Under the rules, banks will share customers' data with third parties that can use the information to offer consumers products, in a move expected to spur competition in Brazil's highly concentrated banking market. It is expected to be fully implemented by October 2021.

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench into the Canadian government review of open banking, causing concern that the delay could further wound financial-technology companies, while leaving scores of Canadian consumers sharing their financial data in potentially risky ways.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a consultation on the future oversight and governance of its Open Banking remedies. More specifically, it seeks to flesh out the funding and governance of a new body that is proposed to succeed the existing Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE). The new body would take over OBIE's functions, other than compliance monitoring, which the CMA will handle.

UK Fintech lender Fintern is targeting as many as 15 million Britons whose credit scores aren't considered of sufficient quality by mainstream lenders; forcing them to turn to much more expensive options such as payday loans or buy now-pay later products. The U.K.'s open banking reforms enables Fintern to obtain the bank account data of any customer who wants to borrow from it, and use its analytics tools to get a detailed idea of what the borrower could afford to repay. If a loan is granted, Fintern continues to access borrowers' bank account data to spot issues as they occur so that they can intervene before problems with the loan get out of hand.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reportedly issued a Regulatory Framework for Open Banking in Nigeria on February 17. (I couldn't find it on the CBN website, but numerous law firms are reporting on it.) Prior to the issuance of the Framework, banks operated in a closed ecosystem, with exclusivity of access to customer information, locking out innovators; and forcing customers to rely solely on the digital channel offerings of their respective banks. With the issuance of the Framework, the financial services space in Nigeria will experience the simplification and integration of multiple and complicated financial services.

European Central Bank (ECB) board member Fabio Panetta warned that the charges levied by banks for instant payments are proving a barrier to uptake. "While the cost for service providers of using TIPS is 0.20 eurocent per instant payment transaction, instant payments are sometimes offered to consumers for €1 per transaction. This must change. For instant payments to become the new normal, they must be cheap and easy to use. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2021/html/ecb.sp210519~6a4523d953.en.html

Visa has called off its deal to buy fintech start-up Plaid for $5.3bn after the US Department of Justice sued to block the transaction on antitrust grounds. Plaid makes software that allows banks and fintechs to plug into consumers' various financial accounts, enabling those companies, with users' permission, to aggregate spending data, look up balances and verify other personal financial information. Visa denied it had been trying to eliminate a potential competitor but said it wanted to avoid "protracted and complex litigation".

Open Banking kicks off in Brazil The first of four phases of Brazil's Open Banking implementation has started, as part of the country's broader agenda of modernization of the national financial ecosystem. In the initial phase, there will be no sharing of data on customer registration or transactional activity. Instead, companies participating in the open banking ecosystem will need to open data on their service channels and the characteristics of banking products and services through open application programming interfaces (APIs). In July's second phase, participating institutions regulated, authorized and supervised by the Banco Central do Brasil will start sharing customer data, with their consent. This will be followed by August's third phase where consumers will be able to pay bills and make money transfers outside their bank's environment. The last phase, forecast for December, relates to sharing of additional customer details, in areas such as foreign exchange services, investments, insurance and salary accounts. https://www.bcb.gov.br/detalhenoticia/17307/nota

In January, South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) unveiled its work plan for 2021, outlining key areas of focus and policy tasks for the year, including promoting financial innovation by advancing open banking development and adoption, the regulator said on January 18, 2021. To promote the development and use of contactless financial services, the FSC said it will begin allowing savings banks and credit card companies to provide open banking services in the first half of 2021, which will be followed by financial investment businesses. https://www.fsc.go.kr/eng/pr010101/75201

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision today published its Report on open banking and application programming interfaces (APIs). The report monitors the evolving trend of open banking observed in Basel Committee member jurisdictions and the use of APIs.

Regulators in the U.S. might be hesitant to mandate an outright move toward open banking, but several factors are pushing the financial services industry in that direction. For starters, 65% of bankers viewed open banking as more of an opportunity than a threat, according to one survey. Respondents believed so strongly in the benefits that 90% expect open banking to boost organic growth by 10%. Opinions, however, diverge when it comes to execution and how financial institutions can best shape open banking to their advantage.

The bank of the future will need to think about people in a completely different way. This will require a customer-first approach that is deeply embedded in the process of how services are designed and delivered. It's an approach that is digitally driven but at its core focused on solving our human problems and needs.