The #openbanking journey continues

Bank customers will be able to use their complete transaction histories from July 1 next year to get a better deal on savings accounts and credit cards in a gradual introduction of the open banking regime, which challengers say will put downward pressure on borrowing costs.

The government has accepted the banks’ argument for a phased-in approach to adding products to the regime, but has insisted on quicker timeframes than the banks had been arguing for. Treasurer Scott Morrison described the establishment of the new regime as a “challenging but realistic timeframe” for the big banks.

FinTech Australia, which represents start-ups, and the Australian Banking Association welcomed the government’s acceptance of the recommendations of the recent Farrell review, which created a data-transferring regime to give consumers greater access to, and control over, their data. It will allow accredited third parties to receive banking data when customers provide express consent for it to be used for a specific purpose.

All the major banks will have to make credit and debit card, deposit and transaction account data available by July 1 next year, and mortgages by February 1, 2020. Personal loans and all other banking data will be included from July 2020, the government said on Wednesday. The regime will apply to consumers and business. All remaining banks will have an extra 12 months for each phase.