60 seconds with Bill Roberts, Head of Open Banking, Competition and Markets Authority
OpenBankingExpo | 60 Seconds, Insights
15 Aug 2019
Head of Open Banking at the Competition and Markets Authority, Bill Roberts, joins the speaking faculty for Open Banking Expo, Canada on September 18. Bill will be delivering the highs and lows of the implementation of Open Banking in the UK as Canada prepares for the possibility of its own banking transformation.
Q: Explain what you do in less than 50 words
As Head of Open Banking at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority I am responsible for the implementation of our open banking remedies through our Implementation Trustee, with whom I work very closely on a day to day basis. I am also on the steering group of the Government’s Smart Data project and sit on the Financial Conduct Authority’s Advisory Group on open finance.
Q: Why did you choose to speak at Open Banking Expo Canada?
It was an opportunity to share what we had learnt in the UK about the design and implementation process, particularly what worked well and what we could maybe have done better.
Q: What are the challenges to overcome before Canada can implement Open Banking?
I am not sufficiently knowledgeable about the Canadian retail banking market to comment in detail, but if the experience of the UK is anything to go by I would anticipate that establishing the liability model between banks and third party providers will be more of an issue than finding solutions to technology problems, which are reasonably straightforward.
Q: If Open Banking is implemented in Canada, what are your predictions for the future of its financial landscape?
Again as above, but I’d expect aggregation products to be the first to market and payment services, for example from retailers, to take a little longer. In both cases though, changes won’t be rapid.
Q: Outside of the banking sector, which industries do you see benefiting from Open Banking? Will they be quick to adopt the principles?
Our experience suggests that any market where the customer’s product usage history has a bearing on a product’s price to them could be relevant. So other financial products such as loans and insurance and outside the financial sector energy and communications.
