The opening up of an ecosystem in which financial institution clients can share their financial data with their preferred brands in order to manage their finances better is one of the future-defining trends in banking and finance. This development is called open banking or open finance, and it may become a launchpad to a truly open economy. 

Open banking is often associated with regulatory requirements to allow third-party (e.g., fintech) access to bank accounts. However, open banking (or, more broadly, open finance) should really be understood as the development of a new financial ecosystem based on connectivity among FIs and businesses, and powered by APIs. This development is primarily business driven, although a regulatory framework (such as that which exists in Europe or Australia) certainly helps to define the rules of the game and accelerate competition and innovation.

This session will highlight how banks can monetize the opportunities in the new financial ecosystem by investing in modern platforms to support customer requirements for money management, real-time payments, data analytics, and other global developments.