The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has revealed the founding partners of its first ‘Open Finance Coalition’. The coalition marks a significant milestone in fostering collaboration and scale by bringing together a diverse range of ecosystem organisations.
CFIT, in line with the Kalifa Review’s mandate to drive fintech growth in the UK, has brought together leading experts from finance, technology, academia and policy-making to remove barriers and facilitate the creation of high-income tech-based employment.
The coalition will focus on showcasing the power of financial data to enhance financial awareness for individuals and SMEs, enabling better management of savings, investments, pensions and insurance.
Founding coalition partners include ABI, Allen and Overy, Amazon Web Services, City of London Corporation, Experian, EY, HSBC, IBM, Innovate Finance, iwoca, KPMG, Leeds City Council, Lloyds Banking Group, Mastercard, MBN Solutions, Monzo, Open Banking Limited, Open Finance Association, Revolut, Smart Data Foundry, Zopa; as well as the support of the FCA.
The Open Finance coalition will kick off their programme of work this summer to identify and unlock access to data sources that have the potential to improve consumer financial outcomes and access to financial services for SMEs.
From September, working groups will then accelerate the ideation and create specific outputs, such as new proofs of concept, products or data partnerships between incumbents and fintechs that will make a real difference to businesses and consumers across the UK.
Working together
Ezechi Britton MBE, CEO of CFIT, commented: “The work of the Open Finance and all future coalitions is enabled by industry associations and the regional fintech bodies. We’d like to thank Innovate Finance, FinTech North, FinTech Scotland, FinTech Northern Ireland, FinTech Wales, FinTech West and SuperTech, for their unwavering support.”
The significance of this coalition lies in its ability to harness the collective expertise and resources of its diverse members. Andy Sacre, head of payments at Monzo, highlighted its potential stating: “Initiatives such as these are critical for the UK to establish a regime that encourages innovation and empowers customers to take control of their financial lives.”
Bryn Coulthard, chief product and technology officer at Smart Data Foundry, also outlined the importance of collaboration in driving change: “We’re excited to work in coalition with so many fantastic organisations to create real impact in this area, driving positive change for consumers and SMEs alike.”
While Jessica Rusu, executive director of data, technology, and innovation, and Sheldon Mills, executive director, consumers and competition of the FCA, said: “Supporting competition and innovation to benefit consumers and businesses is a priority for the FCA. Open banking and open finance have the potential to bring transformative benefits to UK financial services and will help the UK become more competitive and innovative. As such, we are delighted to support CFIT’s first coalition.”
The FCA said it will assist the coalition through the sharing of regulatory knowledge and expertise.
