Covid-19 not delaying open banking drive, finds study

A large global study from Yolt Technology Services points to no delay to banks, lenders, retailers and personal finance management tools' plans in the open banking space.

A majority of senior professionals say COVID-19 has not halted plans to adopt open banking, according to a recent survey. 

The 1000 strong study of banks, lenders, retailers and personal finance management firms in the UK and Netherlands by YTS, found half (48 per cent) of all respondents saying COVID has not disrupted their open banking adoption plans, and a further 12 per cent now encouraged to accelerate their open banking adoption in the wake of the pandemic. 

Nearly a quarter said, however, that coronavirus has caused problems. 12 per cent said it had delayed firms adoption and 11 per cent said it had caused a halting of open banking plans.  

Of the respondents who aren’t currently using open banking (40 per cent), four in five (80 per cent) said they had either not considered using the technology in the last 12 months, or had never considered it at all. 

Leon Muis, Chief Business Officer at YTS (Yolt Technology Services) says in the post-COVID economy, the benefits of open banking will be more important than ever. 

“The benefits of open banking to businesses are clear and we’re confident these will grow over time. The technology will mature and improve, public acceptance and use of the technology will grow, increasing the efficiencies, savings and opportunities businesses can realise from it, and the scope of open banking will widen. In a post-COVID economy, these benefits will be more important than ever,” he said.  

“The direction of travel is clear, it just needs a joint effort from regulators and open banking developers to alleviate concerns and truly unlock the potential of open banking,” he added.