Leading fintech players including Plaid, Truelayer and Yapily have banded together to launch a not-for-profit trade association pushing open finance in the UK and EU.
Simply put, open finance is the use of APIs to connect bank accounts, insurance policies, fintech wallets and other financial service platforms together, such that customers can have access to all their accounts on these various platforms in one app.
Now, the Open Finance Association (OFA) is looking to bring the benefits of open banking to a broader array of financial products.
Backed by a host of leading fintechs, including GoCardless, Volt, Token and Worldpay, the OFA has appointed Nilixa Devlukia, who has held senior roles at the FCA, Obie and EBA, as chair.
The association has set three priorities: enabling consumers and businesses to access their data across all their financial accounts.; developing the adoption of a competitive and convenient instant payment method base on open payments; and promoting a sustainable open finance ecosystem.
Says Devlukia: “Through the promotion of an API-focused agenda in both payments and data, OFA aims to promote a healthy and sustainable fintech ecosystem, in which consumers and businesses all benefit from improved, innovative services.”
