The taskforce, spearheaded by the Centre for Finance, Innovation, and Technology (CFIT), was unveiled by Bim Afolami MP, economic secretary to the treasury, at the 10th annual Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) at the Guildhall in the City of London.

The new taskforce is mandated to identify and prioritise additional use cases for open finance, determine key data sets essential for unlocking its potential, and develop APIs to facilitate improved access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Furthermore, it will explore commercially viable approaches to incentivise businesses to securely share their financial data, paving the way for broader adoption of open finance principles.

“Open banking has been a resounding success,” said Afolami. “It has made the UK a global leader with over nine million consumers using this technology today. 

“It is clearly demonstrated that fintechs can use technology to deliver tangible benefits to consumers and businesses alike through drawing on customer data.

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“That is why the government is working to secure the foundational framework of open banking, including a new regulatory framework that you are ready to frame up to oversee data sharing in financial services.

“The taskforce will craft a clear set of recommendations, pinpointing the datasets and commercial incentives necessary to drive forward CFIT’s SME lending use case for open finance.”

Commenting on the task force, Ezechi Britton MBE, CEO of the CFIT, said: “Britain has long led the way when it comes to innovation in financial services, and Open Finance is the next great opportunity for our economy. So we’re delighted to have been invited by the EST to chair a new industry-led taskforce of leading financial institutions and technology companies. CFIT was founded last year to unblock the barriers to the growth of the UK fintech industry and today’s announcement will ensure we continue to keep up the momentum.”