A couple of weeks ago, we shared a story offering some background on Open Banking. This new standards-based policy allows banking customers to share some of their information for more innovative services. If you missed that article, you can catch up here.
We also invited members of the Debut Community to share their thoughts on whether they think the government should require banks to offer open banking. Let’s look at the results.
Poll Results: Should the government mandate that banks offer Open Banking?
An overwhelming majority (95%) of you expressed that banks should be required to offer Open Banking.
Many people cited consumer choice as a priority. The consensus was that if banks are not required to provide open banking, they might resist adoption for as long as possible. Many of you also felt that Open Banking would be a boon for competition and ultimately result in better customer service and choice.
A few respondents also commented that any form of Open Banking in New Zealand would require a robust legislative framework in place to protect consumers and prevent the option of access from being exploited.
One respondent suggested that the banks make Open Banking available, but users must choose to opt into it individually as required.
Another exciting idea spoke to the capacity for Open Banking and RealMe to help people with registrations and identity verification. People with differing abilities, like neurodivergence, low vision or low motor control, can find it particularly tedious to repeatedly fill out detailed personal information. (They’re not alone in that!)
Although, a couple of you also shared concerns about rolling out Open Banking. These folks felt that banks and businesses already have too much data on customers as it is. They were also concerned that Open Banking data combined with artificial intelligence could risk that data being used to profile customers and affect the services offered or not offered to them. That’s exactly why we need to make sure the legislative framework protects consumers and their data.
Overall, there were some really clever thoughts and comments on Open Banking from you folks. Thanks so much for sharing. We read everything, so please keep the conversation going.
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Please note, Debut is not a registered bank under the Banking (Prudential Supervision) Act. This is about our future intentions. Investments with us are not supervised currently by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
