A study conducted across ten European countries by Mastercard has found the UK and the Nordics are the most well-suited for the growth of open banking across the continent.
The report – Open Banking Readiness Index: The Future of Open Banking in Europe – found the two regions were most likely to make the most of open banking due to a high amount of bank APIs, consumer readiness and progressive regulators.
Furthermore, Mastercard found the digital infrastructure in the UK and the Nordics enabled the countries to allow widespread uptake of digital banking, with the company identifying a high level of household internet access and smartphones that has helped create an established online banking population.
According to the Open Banking Implementation Entity – an organisation that was established by the UK Competition and Markets Authority in 2016 to boost open banking – approximately 294 FinTech firms and payment service providers have joined the UK business ecosystem, with 102 of them live on the market.
In the Nordics, the report found the region’s pan-Nordic collaborative models and P27 Nordic Payments initiative have helped boost the area’s open banking. In addition, Mastercard discovered most of the largest Nordic banks already have an open banking strategy.
Mastercard SVP for open banking Jim Wadsworth said, “By taking advantage of pan-European developments such as PSD2, all European banks are progressing towards a full open banking environment, but it is clear the UK and Nordics are leading the way with high consumer readiness and a number of solutions already live.”
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