Finance Monthly September 2021 Edition

Open banking changed everything. It puts businesses and consumers back in control of their data, allowing them to grant direct access to third- party companies via application programming interfaces (APIs) operated by their banks. Open banking needs data Data access is important for FinTech companies that want to enhance their own services, such as fast loan approvals or budgeting applications. An online budgeting service could pen banking breaks down traditional barriers in the financial sector that kept customer data locked up. For years, the only way businesses and consumers could view financial data like transaction histories was through paper statements or web forms. The lucky ones may have been able to access data in PDFs, or perhaps as downloadable files for specific desktop programs. For most customers though, that put restrictions on how they could use that data. use customers' transaction data to show them summaries of where they spend their money, helping them to plan their finances more effectively. FinTech also includes elements of artificial intelligence (AI), typically in the form of machine learning. The combination of access to larger amounts of financial data and the power of AI will enable businesses and consumers to glean new insights from banking services. Initial access to that data has BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES - OPEN BANKING 17 www.finance-monthly.com