A third of Brits ready to trust tech giants in Open Banking era

30% of Brits would be happy to sign over access to their financial data to trusted tech companies such as Apple, Google or third party apps using such platforms, according to research by the Prepaid International Forum (PIF).

New Open Banking legislation (which came into force at the start of 2018) allows customers to tell banks to share financial data to properly regulated third parties. This data is then provided in a way that doesn’t reveal account passwords or access codes, but does allow third parties to analyse spending habits and help find better deals. The PIF study, involving 1,000 people, shows that many, especially younger consumers, are happy to give such permissions in order to gain financial benefits or better insights over how they manage their money. 34% of those aged 18-24 would provide permission to the likes of Apple, with 30% saying that they would also trust Google. Amongst older customers, 24% of those aged 65 or older would provide Apple with permission. 

“Smartphones and search engines have become essential tools for everyday life and this research shows that people are now willing to consider adding Open Banking to the list of services that such devices help to improve,” says Alastair Graham, Spokesperson for PIF. “Mobile devices already offer many payment services, often using the prepaid platform to facilitate simple and secure transactions.  To many people, adding Open Banking feels like a small step.”