Australia’s big 4 banks welcome the launch of open banking

By Edil Corneille

The Competition and Consumer (Consumer Data Right) Rules went live on July 1, in Australia. This has been welcomed by the big 4 banks of the country – ANZ, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and NAB where they will be sharing their customers’ data with third parties, when requested by the customer.

Angus Sullivan, CBA’s Group Executive of Retail Banking Services encapsulated, “As Australia’s largest bank, with our leading digital services including the CommBank app and NetBank, we are excited by the opportunity to deliver greater industry leading products and services to even more Australians.

“The investment in Open Banking will allow a well regulated and secure framework for the sharing of customer data in Australia and a substantial improvement over other, unsafe practices,” he said.

In February, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) declared the Competition and Consumer (Consumer Data Right) Rules which provide legislative force to consumer data-sharing obligations, to become mandatory from July 1, 2020.

Rachel Slade, Group Executive, Personal Banking, NAB elucidated, “…We’ve invested heavily in our technology foundations and in our people to build a great customer experience that has been focused on ensuring the safety and security of customer information.

“It will take time for customers to develop familiarity, trust and understanding in using Open Banking. We’re continuing to prepare for future phases that will allow our customers to share more of their data, should they choose to do so…”

Consumers can now choose to share their banking data to access more personalised financial products and services. Open banking enables a customer to avail greater financial services and gives personal banking customers the right to share certain data with trusted third parties.

Westpac Acting Chief Executive, Consumer, Richard Burton enunciated, “…Enhanced data sharing will give customers more confidence they are getting the best deal, and help make it easier to find the best value service that meets their needs.

“We’re committed to ensuring our customers understand how they can benefit from the change Open Banking is bringing to our industry now and into the future.”