UK – Financial Conduct Authority sets out vision for open finance to empower consumers and businesses

Open finance has the potential to be the next major step in the UK’s smart data revolution. FCA roadmap sets out a clear path to move open finance from vision to delivery between now and 2030. Consumers and businesses could be given greater control over their financial data to help secure better deals.

„Open finance will unlock the potential for people and businesses to share their financial data securely with a range of financial services providers, helping them access mortgages, investments, savings and pensions. This will give financial services firms a more complete picture of consumers’ and businesses’ finances, enabling more personalised and inclusive services, alongside more competitive pricing and stronger fraud protection.”- according to the press release.

„We’re building on the foundations of open banking and international experience, to make sure open finance develops in a way that is secure, trusted and proportionate.” – said FCA.

Open banking has approximately 17 million users, representing nearly 1 in 3 adults in the UK. Research by Open Banking Limited and EY suggests that the economic impact of open banking and open finance combined could reach £7.4bn per year in 5 years.

The FCA will prioritise exploring how open finance can help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) improve access to credit and speed up loan applications. It will also examine how open finance can help consumers manage and improve access to mortgages.

FCA plans for open finance to 2030

Financial Conduct Authority roadmap aims to be pragmatic, evidence-led and collaborative.

2026: collaboration to prioritise what open finance should deliver

. Prioritise high-impact use cases where open finance can deliver benefits most quickly, starting with lending to SMEs, and improving consumers’ access to mortgages.  

. Build robust evidence through sprints and structured experiments, testing what works in practice and where barriers remain.  

. Draw on stakeholder expertise and insights to identify the impact of future use cases on consumer outcomes, competition, growth and innovation.

. Work closely with industry, consumer groups and the Government to assess delivery models, incentives and the role of industry-led solutions.  

. Invite views on how our regulations can unlock benefits for consumers, businesses and firms, and promote the safe and responsible adoption of open finance, starting with a discussion paper on the first scheme.   

2027: framework design and coordination

. Use the evidence from earlier phases to shape options for the long-term regulatory framework for open finance, and seek views on these.

. Identify where common frameworks, shared infrastructure or governance arrangements are needed to unlock benefits at scale.  

2028 to 2030: scale and deliver

FCA longer-term activities, taking us up to 2030, will support scaling up and delivery:

. Collaborate with industry on the launch of sustainable open finance schemes with clear governance, high standards of consumer protection and interoperability.

. Review our priorities as markets evolve, new technologies emerge, and we identify more high-impact use cases.

David Geale, executive director for payments and digital finance at the FCA, said: ‘Open finance has the potential to transform how people interact with financial services. By giving consumers and businesses more control over their own financial data, we can help them access credit, secure better deals and receive more customised support – while fuelling innovation, competition and supporting economic growth.’

To progress plans as quickly as possible, the FCA will engage with industry, consumer groups and fellow regulators in 2026 to develop a range of practical open finance use cases. This will be done through the FCA’s Smart Data Accelerator and PRISM (Prioritisation and Real-world Insights Selection Matrix) Taskforce.

Adam Jackson, chief strategy officer at Innovate Finance, said: ‘Just as open banking has sparked the growth of many UK fintechs, so open finance can power a new wave of innovation. By unlocking high-quality data in a way that secures consumer trust, open finance can be a foundation for widespread adoption of agentic AI. We support collaboration between industry and the FCA to deliver the roadmap at pace, enabling agreement on priority use cases and datasets, and appropriate regulatory action to open these up to competition and innovation.’

The FCA will work with HM Treasury on options for a regulatory framework for open finance by the end of 2027. Firms will be supported to introduce open finance products sooner where they are already able to access data and appropriate permissions are in place.

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Related documents

1. The FCA’s Smart Data Accelerator allows firms to test emerging technologies and use cases for open finance in a secure space, supporting agile and dynamic policymaking.
2. The FCA-led PRISM (Prioritisation and Real-world Insights Selection Matrix) Taskforce will create a clear, reusable framework for assessing the impact of open finance use cases.
3. The FCA will consult on its proposed long-term regulatory framework for open banking before the end of 2026. Open banking is a secure and regulated way for people and businesses to share access to payments data from their bank account with trusted apps and services.
4. For more information, visit open banking and open finance.