Open Banking Expands Worldwide with Different Implementations: Here’s What’s Happening

Mercator has completed a worldwide review of countries embracing open banking. This review identifies the approach each country has taken to legislate open banking and also identifies the standards bodies that they rely on to implement the APIs that deliver access to data and payments. This knowledge is important for any supplier that intends to enter these markets. Mercator Advisory Group’s latest research report, Open Banking Goes Worldwide: U.S. Inroads are Keeping Pace with Global Efforts, evaluates the legislation and technology standards that are being promulgated in six countries including the U.S.

Our last report documented the stabilization of open banking within the EU and especially the U.K., but the success of open banking in the EU has expanded interest into other countries including Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and the U.S.

“Combined with the 36 countries within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), there are now a potential of 41 countries implementing open banking at some level,” comments Tim Sloane, Research Director at Mercator Advisory Group and the author of the report. “Understanding what services are being prioritized in which countries combined with a recognition of the standardized APIs being used in each country enables financial institutions and fintechs to better plan their cross-border and market-entry strategies.”

Those U.S financial institutions and fintechs building out an API portal strategy need to understand how each country intends to authenticate participants, secure the API infrastructure and establish standard APIs for a range of use cases.

This research report has 19 pages and 1 exhibit.

Companies and other organizations mentioned in this report include:
ACI Worldwide, Afinis, American Express, Ant Group, API Exchange (APIX), ASB Trust Bank (ASB), ASEAN Bankers Association, ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Bank of America, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), BB&T, BMO, BNY Mellon, Bottomline Technologies, CapitalOne, Chase, CIBC, Citi, Citizens Bank, City National Bank, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), CSG International, Data61, Datacom, Diebold Nixdorf, Discover, Early Warning, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Financial Data Exchange (FDX), Finastra, FIS, Fiserv, FISPAN, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), HSBC, Intuit, Jack Henry, Japanese Bankers Association (JBA), JPMorgan Chase, Konsentus, Mastercard, MicroBilt, Microsoft. Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), NCR, New York State Department of Financial Services (NY DFS), Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), Oracle, Paymark, Payments NZ, PayPal, Phixius, PNC Bank, PSCU, Q2 Software, RBC, Sage, SAP, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SHAZAM, TD Bank, Temenos, The Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN), The Clearing House, The Federal Reserve Banks, The Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), TradeMe, U.S. Bank, U.S. Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), US Bank, US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), USAA, Visa, Wells Fargo, World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Highlights of the report include:

• A review of the major standards bodies attempting to create open banking standards.
• A review of the issues that greatly delay interoperability, especially the need for compliance and interoperability testing.
• A country-by-country review of legislative approach, specific legislation passed, and the standards bodies associated with the development of open banking APIs.