Latest news with #HenkVanHulle
Finextra
2 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
New data access bill paves the way for evolution of open banking to open finance
The UK Government has passed the Data (Use and Access) Bill through the House of Parliament, paving the way for expansion of open banking and smart data sharing across multiple business sectors. 0 The legislation is a key lever to support the expansion of open banking beyond payments to a more general open finance model, giving consumers the power to share their data more widely across new use cases in energy, telecoms, transport and retail sectors. This broader vision expands the open-data concept beyond banks to encompass insurance, investments, pensions, and other financial services. One example would be an insurance company offering an overview of existing pension products or the access to loans and deposits data from different banks in one application. The UK Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has already built two working prototypes of open finance applications for providing financial advice to vulnerable consumers and to speed up credit assessments for SME loan applications. Other use cases could include the sharing of mortgage data to grease the wheels of the property market and provide the best deals on utility bills. Open Banking Limited CEO Henk Van Hulle comments: 'This is a landmark moment for the sector, but it is just the beginning. Now is the time to turn these foundations into real-world outcomes which empower consumers, drive innovation, and unlock growth. 'Having set the legislative foundations for a smarter, more connected data economy, government, regulators and industry need to come together to make this a reality. The coming months will see important choices made that will frame the type of ecosystem and outcomes we deliver in the years to come.'
Finextra
05-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
UK FS players agree to fund delivery of commercial VRPs
A group of 31 players in the open banking and payments industries has committed to fund efforts to create a new company that will bid to put Variable Recurring Payments on a viable commercial footing in the UK. 1 VRPs are a form of payments instruction that allows customers to authorise registered payment service providers to initiate payments from their bank account on an ongoing basis, where the timing or the amount might vary, within agreed limits. Financial regulators have been gradually laying the ground for VRPs, and late last year the government called for industry partners to play their role in supporting the effective and timely delivery of commercial variable payments (cVRPs). Now a group of 31 fintechs, high street banks, challenger banks and payment providers have agreed to put up initial funding for a new entity that will be wholly owned and run by industry. Barclays, GoCardless, Mastercard, Monzo, Plaid, Revolut and Wise are among the backers. The proposed initial uses cases for cVRPs will focus on selected regulated industries such as payments to utility and rail companies, regulated financial firms, e-money institutions, government bodies, and charities. Offering cVRPs in these areas would give Brits better control over regular payments, as well as a frictionless experience when buying goods or services from websites. Henk Van Hulle, CEO, Open Banking Limited, says: 'This is a significant moment for the industry, and I sincerely thank the organisations that have committed to fund efforts to create a company that will carry forward the important work on cVRPs. It is testament to the collaborative nature of our ecosystem that it can be industry-led."
