One third of countries now have open banking programs

There are now more than 65 national open banking programs worldwide.

68 countries (35 per cent of the world) now have open banking either live or in development, according to a new study by Konsentus, an open banking-based Software-as-a-Service platform.

The study shows a strong regulatory push towards implementing open banking, with 64 per cent of the initiatives made mandatory through legislation.

By contrast, only four markets are pursuing a market-led approach and just over half (26 per cent) of initiatives do not have formal regulation but do have strong regulatory support and a centralised program approach.

According to the research, a hybrid approach has started to become popular, particularlyy in Asia, but there has proved to be no ‘one size fits all’ approach across all jurisdictions. 

“Given that open banking is in its infancy, the fact that 35 per cent of the world is pursuing an open banking program is a testament to its relevance and importance in the global financial digitisation agenda,” Konsentus CEO Mike Woods said.

He added that Konsentus expects this number to continue to grow, with open banking testing and implementation intensifying next year.

“Konsentus has become much more rigorous in its criteria for this important asset to reflect the real development on the ground,” Woods added.

The study showed the Eastern Europe and Central Asian Network (EECAN) to be a particularly key region to watch, with more than 50 per cent of the 14 countries having either a live or active program.

And for markets where open banking is not new news, there is a shift towards widening the scope towards open finance or open data, allowing third parties to access a wider range of data on more financial products a user may have, such as insurance or investments.