Where is open banking heading? – our predictions for 2022
Is 2022 the year we forget all about open banking? It’s not a far stretch, as conversations start shifting more and more to ‘open finance’ and ‘open data’ instead. Whatever you call it, the (increasingly) open access to financial data will continue to push the industry forward. Here’s what Tink CEO Daniel Kjellén expects for the year ahead.
Tink CEO Daniel Kjellén shares his predictions for 2022 – starting out by seeing an increasing shift towards open finance and open data.
Increased focus on financial inclusion and sustainability efforts will be key themes for the year, with open banking enabling significant advances in those fronts.
While open banking payments have been a hot topic for a while, this year is when we’ll really see them boom.
Sustainability, inclusion, breezy payments… we look forward to seeing open banking and fintech propel these forward in 2022. Without further ado, here are four predictions for the year ahead.
1. The shift to open finance and open data will continue
Open banking’s evolution into open finance will continue to pick up pace. We’ve been talking about this internally for the best part of a decade, but with the pandemic accelerating the shift to digital, changes we expected to take a decade more are already happening now.
As the shift to open finance and open data accelerates, it will encourage a healthy and competitive industry and vibrant financial ecosystem – enabling innovative new products and services to be created. This will give consumers and businesses more choice and control over how they manage their finances.
2. Financial inclusion will gain increased attention
Financial inclusion will be another major theme in 2022. According to the World Bank, almost 1.7 billion people across the globe are unbanked.
Open banking has the ability to drive accessibility in financial services, creating more personalised and cost-effective products for all kinds of customers. I expect to see growing interest (and investments) in startups that give the underbanked better access to the financial system by using a more holistic picture of their data.
As well as contributing to the UN’s financial inclusivity aims, this also expands the customer base of traditional banks – making it a good example of how fintechs and traditional financial institutions can work together to achieve a common goal.
3. Open banking payments will boom
Open banking payments are taking off at full speed, giving a huge opportunity for the sector to establish a new paradigm. From frictionless payments to providing more secure and simple ways to pay – the benefits for merchants, payment providers, open banking operators, and consumers alike are enormous.
Now that open banking tech is mature enough, the payments industry has the opportunity to fully leverage the innovation we’ve already seen. 2022 will be the year many new products come to market to give everyone more freedom and choice in how they pay and receive payments.
4. The year of sustainable innovation
COP26 was a lightning rod for consumers and businesses, signalling that we all need to do more to reduce our impact on the environment. As a result, more fintechs aimed at creating products and services that help consumers and businesses meet environmental goals will emerge. From green loans to banking apps with sustainability and carbon-tracking features, 2022 will be the year of sustainable innovation.
Open banking will play a huge role in how businesses meet sustainability requirements. That’s because data can shed much-needed light to bring positive change, be it by mapping investments against ESG ratings, better understanding the risk profile of customers, and accessing or providing loans to fund change throughout society.
At the retail level, open banking can power consumer apps that analyses transactions to help individuals track, understand and change their behaviour to improve their carbon footprint.
Open banking is key to creating solutions like these – which will likely be a bigger focus area for financial institutions in 2022.
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