Issue 16: April: ADR's surrender accreditation's, ACCC and Treasury reshuffle, Trusted advisors taking off and more CDR representatives
It’s official, TrueLayer and Credit Simple surrender ADR accreditations
While it was common knowledge that TrueLayer had exited the Australian CDR service provider market, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) made it official by announcing they had surrendered their accreditation on the 19th of April.
TrueLayer joins Credit Simple which also surrendered its accreditation on the 21st of March.
The crowded CDR outsourced service provider market seems to be undergoing some consolidation. With Basiq and MyCDR Data being acquired and TrueLayer gone, the market is somewhat shrinking.
ACCC, Treasury reshuffle CDR leadership
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Treasury have announced changes to the leadership of the Consumer Data Right (CDR) regime.
Paul Franklin Executive General Manager, Consumer Data Right has resigned. The recent interim CEO of the Australian Energy Regulator Kathie Standen will take over Franklin’s role as Executive General Manager of the CDR at the commission.
In a CDR newsletter, Kate O’Rourke announced she will also be moving on, with James Kelly to assume leadership of the Treasury's work on the Consumer Data Right.
Article link: ACCC, Treasury reshuffle CDR leadership
Consumer Data Right updates link: Consumer Data Right Newsletter: 24 March 2023
The Trusted advisors model market is heating up
The Trusted advisors model that allows accountants/bookkeepers/BAS agents, lawyers, financial counseling services, financial advisers, and mortgage brokers to access CDR data is continuing to heat up.
SISS joins Diñeiro, NextGen, and Skript offering Trusted advisor services. The cost to access CDR data is as low as $30 a month.
It may well be that a consumer’s first experience with sharing CDR data may be via this model.
Mortgage brokers alone submit approximately 400,000 home loan applications per month where bank statements are required to be provided manually. More broker groups are expected to commence using NextGen’s Finance Passport offering to confirm their customer’s income and expenses over the coming months. It appears that some lenders, including major players, are preparing to use Trusted advisor data to confirm income for refinance applications.
For mortgage brokers, the opportunity to streamline the application process is very appealing. Lenders as well will benefit from CDR data being more reliable than existing paper documentation.
Accountants and bookkeepers will also benefit from a wider range of data such as interest rates and repayment terms being available. Existing data feeds have focused almost solely on transactions.
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner link: Trusted advisers in the Consumer Data Right system
Cuscal’s Basiq warns CDR could sever customers’ direct ties to banks
Cuscal's fintech subsidiary Basiq has warned that the Consumer Data Right could potentially break the direct relationship between customers and their banks.
Responding to questions from the Senate economics legislation committee chair Jess Walsh, CEO and founder of Basiq Damir Ćuća said that while action initiation could boost competition and give consumers more choices, it may also lead to market consolidation and the rise of super apps.
Action Initiation is again discussed this time with a focus on possible negative impacts.
“Citing brands like Apple and Google, Damir said: “The negative impact in the extreme could be [the emergence of] potential super apps, [where] someone's got a phenomenal amount of marketing dollars that can plug into all these APIs and can pay for all the consumers to go to their app and never have to go to the other third-party app.”
Article link: Cuscal’s Basiq warns CDR could sever customers’ direct ties to banks
CDR action initiation would benefit brokers, FBAA tells Senate
Coverage of Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) General Manager Peter White’s comments at the Senate economics legislation committee last week.
While Action Initiation was still the focus, Peter confirmed that the mortgage broker association was “very supportive” of the idea of giving mortgage brokers greater access to the CDR.
Currently, mortgage brokers are able to receive data shared by a consumer under the Consumer Data Right through the ‘Trusted adviser’ model.
The FBAA believes that the CDR will provide greater competition in the financial services sector and result in better outcomes for consumers. They also argue that the implementation of the CDR would create new opportunities for brokers to provide more tailored and personalised services to their clients.
Article link: CDR action initiation would benefit brokers, FBAA tells Senate
11eight partners with expert to help insurers manage CDR
Advisory firm 11eight partners with Quill Peak Consulting to target the insurance industry with consulting services around the Consumer Data Right.
Quill Peak is led by David Griddy, previously a Principal with Deloitte’s Payments and Advisory Practice and a leader in understanding the CDR and Open Banking.
Advisory 11eight noted, “CDR comes at a time insurers face new regulatory requirements, claims cost inflation, increasing reinsurance costs, climate change-related pressures, legacy tech challenges, and disruption.”
Article link: 11eight partners with expert to help insurers manage CDR
Here are the Open Data finalists of the FinTech Australia Finnie awards for 2023
The finalists for FinTech Australia’s seventh annual business awards, known as The Finnises, have been announced.
Finalists for the Excellence in Open Data award are:
Adatree
Basiq
Biza
Codat
Frollo
ProductCloud
Skript
Wych Australia
Article link: Here are the finalists of the FinTech Australia Finnie awards for 2023
ACSISS solves a big problem for accountants & bookkeepers with open banking
SISS Data Service has launched “ACSISS Advisor” to allow accountants and bookkeepers to access CDR data using the ‘Trusted adviser’ model.
“Bank transaction records are vital to the accounting process” says Grant Augustin, co-founder and CEO of SISS. “From my experience in practice, I know only too well how frustrating it can be when you have to stop work and chase up a client for transaction records”. Accountants often rely on bank data feeds within their online accounting systems, however these suffer from limited range of banks and account types, or reliability issues for those that rely on screen-scraping.”
Article link: ACSISS solves a big problem for accountants & bookkeepers with open banking
Action Initiation: the double-edged sword of Australia’s Consumer Data Right
An opinion piece written by Damir Ćuća, CEO and Founder of Basiq.
The Australian government's proposed Action Initiation for the Consumer Data Right has been described as a double-edged sword for the fintech industry. On one hand, the CDR is seen as a positive development that will promote competition and innovation in the financial services sector, as well as empowering consumers to control their data. On the other hand, the implementation of the CDR poses significant challenges for fintechs, including compliance with complex regulatory requirements and the need to develop new technology infrastructure to enable secure and efficient data sharing. The article suggests that the government needs to take a balanced approach to the implementation of the CDR, ensuring that it delivers on its promise of greater competition and innovation while also mitigating the risks to the fintech industry.
Article link: Action Initiation: the double-edged sword of Australia’s Consumer Data Right
diñeiro joins forces with Envestnet | Yodlee
Diñeiro has selected Yodlee to supply data and analytics so mortgage brokers can better understand a borrower’s financial position.
The Diñeiro product offers mortgage brokers a connected dashboard for reports on revenue by source, categorises costs, and displays transactions for linked bank accounts. The product may also allow for ongoing monitoring of customer finances.
Article link: News diñeiro joins forces with Envestnet | Yodlee
Article link: Australia’s diñeiro app selects Envestnet | Yodlee to supply financial data
Envestnet Named a Leader in Open Banking
More press on the Forrester Wave Open Banking Intermediaries report in which Envestnet, Yodlee’s parent company was announced as one of the top open banking intermediaries.
Article link: Envestnet Named a Leader in Open Banking
Open banking fintech Waave rides $4.7 million seed round
Waave a payment app that allows customers to manage their finances from one place has raised $4.7 million in a seed funding round.
Waave’s flagship product offered to businesses called Pay by Bank takes a flat 28 cent transaction fee, making it up to 80 percent cheaper than card payments processing an average cart value of $100. It requires no passwords, and instead uses authentication methods like FaceID and TouchID to approve transactions.
From July, Waave plans to roll out its services to key enterprise e-commerce customers both online and in-store across Australia. The team also believes there is scope to grow internationally alongside increased uptake of Open Banking globally.
Article link: Open banking fintech Waave rides $4.7 million seed round
Waave article link: Waave what is pay by bank
ANZ becomes final major bank to achieve CDR data accreditation
More press on ANZ’s accreditation as an Accredited Data Recipient.
“An ANZ spokesperson told iTnews the accreditation, which was obtained late March, offers the bank opportunities to explore "a variety of use cases to help our customers improve their financial wellbeing, which aligns to the progress we’re making in ANZ Plus."
Article link: ANZ becomes final major bank to achieve CDR data accreditation
Busting a CDR myth - why we need to talk about migration
An opinion piece written by Stuart Low, Founder, and CEO of Biza.io.
Stuart discusses the ING migration that resulted in all consents being revoked and customers needing to reestablish consents with ADRs.
The article points out that a lift and shift approach is possible if planned for by the Data Holder.
The ACCC has recently provided some guidance on system migration, the expectation is that consumers are not to be negatively impacted.
Article link: Busting a CDR myth - why we need to talk about migration
A human-led approach is critical to tech-powered success
The Finance Review in partnership with PwC Australia looks at the future of finance.
The future of banking in Australia requires a blend of digital and human approaches to meet the changing expectations of customers. While digital technology such as Web3 and artificial intelligence can help banks deliver superior customer experiences, they must also retain human elements such as judgement, care, empathy, and understanding. Short-term challenges facing Australia's banks include inflation, cyberattacks, scams, and regulatory changes, which can be addressed through partnerships and collaboration across the industry. Investing in automation and upskilling the workforce is necessary for banks to remain competitive and reduce costs. The changing role of bank branches and investment in digital skills and financial literacy are also important parts of the digital transition. Ultimately, technology will be a massive enabler in the future of finance, but banking will remain human-led.
“When we talk about the future of finance and the role banks will play, it’s clear there’s a transition underway driven largely by changing customer expectations. Expectations are shifting faster than ever as a result of customers’ new experiences outside banking and within, those currently available and those yet to be fully realised such as faster payments infrastructure and capabilities such as consumer data right (CDR).”
Article link: A human-led approach is critical to tech-powered success
finbots.ai expands its global footprint with new client in Australia
Accel-backed finbots.ai, a Singapore-based B2B SaaS FinTech announced signing Argenic, a growth stage Australian FinTech as their latest client.
Argenic, a Brisbane-based FinTech, provides a decentralised banking platform offering local SMEs a comprehensive suite of financial management services including payments, lending, and investment solutions.
finbots.ai’s AI credit modeling platform creditX will leverage Argenic’s open banking and historical data to develop high accuracy and agile credit scorecards at a fraction of the time and cost.
Article link: finbots.ai expands its global footprint with new client in Australia
Australia’s payments future and what it means for business
This article discusses the future of payments in Australia and how it will impact businesses. It highlights the shift towards digital payments, including contactless payments, QR codes, and peer-to-peer transactions. The article also covers the implementation of the New Payments Platform (NPP) and its impact on payment speed and innovation. The article concludes by emphasizing the need for businesses to adapt to these changes and take advantage of new payment technologies to improve customer experience and increase efficiency.
There are a number of powerful mega-trends driving this rapid change in Australia today. These include the rise of real-time payments for business through the New Payments Platform and the adoption and growth of Open Banking.
Article link: Australia’s payments future and what it means for business
CDR Representative Arrangements
ADR Principal: Basiq Pty Ltd
TaxTank Pty Ltd
Start Date: 18/04/2023
Notes: Tax and financial position management software.
Web page: https://taxtank.com.au/ADR Principal: Fiskil Pty Ltd
L.O.L. Consultants Pty Ltd
Start Date: 06/04/2023
Notes: A consultancy working on Volta App. “An operations automation solution for Energy Retailers and Energy market participants to transition to renewable energy strategies.”
Web page: https://lolconsultants.com/
ADR Principal: Skript Pty Ltd
WRKR Ltd
Start Date: 20/04/2023
Notes: “With one of the widest reaches in the RegTech space in Australia, wrkr simplifies worker compliance from hire to retire.”
Web page: https://wrkr.com.au/