Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that the UK's Open Banking Standard can be leveraged internationally.

The Treasury is supportive of open banking standards, and other jurisdictions that wish to follow this initiative. The government has taken steps to explore how open data could be used and shared, in particular:

In September 2015, the Treasury requested for the Open Banking Working Group (OBWG) to be set up, to explore how data could be used to help consumers transact, save, borrow, lend and invest their money. The group published a report on Open Banking Standards, which has since been picked up by governments and organisations globally.

The Treasury welcomes the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA’s) remedies on Open Banking, which has the potential to bring significant benefits to consumers and SMEs by promoting competition in the retail banking sector.

Currently the government has no plans of requiring open data sharing standards beyond the banking sector.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will continue to provide a key supervisory function to protect consumers from the harm that can be caused by firm misconduct. As the competent authority under the EU Payment Systems Directive, the FCA will have a key role in monitoring the Open Banking Standard.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will continue to safeguard personal data and provide advice to banks to ensure data is shared in a secure and responsible manner.