Open Banking expected to contribute over £1 Billion annually to UK economy supporting 17,000 new jobs

- Greater information transparency will give banks a better picture of credit risk, allowing them to reduce the risk premium charged on mortgage interest rates, expanding credit access and supporting GDP
- Industry must earn consumer trust if benefits are to be realised given research from Accenture shows 69% of people may not consent to share data with third-parties

February 26, London, 2018 – Trustpilot, the leading global online review platform, today announces a study finding Open Banking can unlock over £1 Billion in additional UK GDP on an annual basis, supporting approximately 17,000 new jobs for the UK economy. The findings are the result of a study undertaken by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) into the economic impact of new Open Banking standards on the UK economy. However, research from Accenture recently found 69% of people may not consent to share their banking data with third-parties, demonstrating the entire industry must work hard to earn consumer trust.

Open Banking is the UK initiative to implement requirements of the EU’s Payment Services Directive II, which came into force in January. New Open Banking standards for APIs provide access to consumer and SME banking information for third-party companies benefiting consumers with personalised offers whilst fostering greater competition in the market. Customers must provide their explicit consent before their data can be made open to other organisations.

Glenn Manoff, SVP at Trustpilot, commented: “By giving customers the choice to provide their financial data to third parties, Open Banking is set to unleash significant innovation across UK financial services. The new standards will also increase competition and remove information barriers as a plethora of new fintech players access the data necessary to provide compelling new services.”

He continued: “However, as research from Accenture demonstrates the industry will need to work extremely hard for the £1 Billion annual GDP benefit to be fully realised by demonstrating that consumers can trust them with their banking data.  At Trustpilot, we believe in the principle of openness for driving innovation and growth. In this new world, we expect the financial services sector to see a revolution in how it deals with customers. Whether you’re a multinational bank or a fintech start-up, open, honest and transparent customer feedback will be critical to competing and winning the trust of customers in this new competitive environment.“

Cristian Niculescu-Marcu, Head of Micro-economics at Cebr, added: “By improving the transparency of current account data, Open Banking means more third-parties will have access to customer data, which can lead to a reduction in the risk premium currently charged on interest rates linked to products such as mortgages, due to a clearer understanding of a person’s underlying credit risk. Our analysis suggests Open Banking will have a positive impact on UK GDP as additional funds become available for productive use in the wider economy, but the degree to which these economic benefits are realised is dependent on the readiness of consumers to consent to sharing data.”

Cebr found that by improving information available to banks, Open Banking means institutions can charge customers interest rates that represent more accurate risk profiles, therefore reducing the ‘credit spread’ that exists today and freeing more money for productive use in the economy. Cebr found that every 1% reduction in the credit spread on mortgages leads to a £153 million increase in GDP, with Open Banking assumed to result in a 7% reduction in today’s credit spread totalling £1.069 Billion in additional GDP.

About the research
Cebr’s study began by establishing a relationship between information asymmetries and Open Banking. Subsequently, analysis focused on the impact of information asymmetry in analogous industries such as the corporate bond market to understand impact. Finally, Cebr applied econometric research to understand the link between interest rates and UK GDP, allowing a clear picture of Open Banking’s GDP impact based on assumed reductions in the credit spread of 7% - an estimate compared to the impact of information asymmetry on credit spread in the corporate bond market.

About Trustpilot
Trustpilot is a leading global online review platform that helps consumers make better purchasing decisions and businesses showcase and improve their service. Any consumer can write a review on Trustpilot; any business can invite its customers to share reviews about their experiences – for free. With more than 40 million reviews of 200,000 businesses from a variety of industries worldwide, Trustpilot is quickly becoming the world’s leading independent review site. Trustpilot reviews are seen nearly 2 billion times each month by consumers worldwide. With offices in Copenhagen, London, New York, Denver, Berlin, Melbourne and Vilnius, Trustpilot's 600 employees represent more than 40 different nationalities. For more information, visit https://www.trustpilot.com