Chancellor hails open banking as "right direction of travel" during a visit to TrueLayer HQ

The new chancellor of the exchequer has given his approval to open banking, calling it the “right direction of travel” in a recent visit to the offices of TrueLayer.

Nadhim Zahawi visited True Layer’s headquarters in Clerkenwell, London last week, where he met executives from the open banking platform along with some of its clients, including Revolut, Luno, WorldRemit,Chip and Plum.

The chancellor also made an open banking payment using a desktop QR code during his visit.

According to a TrueLayer LinkedIn post, the chancellor said of open banking: “This got huge support because people could see that this is the right direction of travel- this democratisation of finance… making it accessible and affordable.”

In a series of photos accompanying the LinkedIn post,  Zahawi can be seen giving a speech on the day, carrying out an open banking transaction and talking to fintech executives.

The TrueLayer LinkedIn post has been reposted by Revolut, with the caption “when Revolut gets to meet the chancellor of the exchequer”.

TrueLayer also posted about the visit on Twitter, which has been retweeted by Zahawi.

Last month, Zahawi was appointed chancellor of the exchequer in Boris Johnson’s  government after Rishi Sunak quit the post in protest at his leadership.

Zahawi, who founded YouGov, the market research firm, in 2000, is said to be a fan and champion of startups.

Just days after taking on the role as chancellor, Zahawi gave a speech hailing “fintech innovation” and pledged a bonfire of EU financial regulation.

The momentum behind open banking is growing, with the latest figures showing the UK has hit a record of 6 million users, amid government and regulator support for the technology.

In September last year, HM Revenue and Customs said it had hit a significant open banking milestone after it said at least £1bn in tax had been paid to the government using open banking technology.