Open Banking – Underestimated By Banks

Open Banking is an umbrella term used to describe technology that allows clients of banks (or accredited third parties) to access client data (e.g. transactions & holdings) or services of the bank (e.g. payments) via an API rather than via the bank’s e-banking platform. Having such APIs available allows for a seamless integration of banking data and services in third party applications. The Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug (IFZ) Open Banking has now published the IFZ Open Banking Study 2022 which analyses the state of open banking in the Swiss banking landscape. The study is based on interviews with 21 experts from banks, insurance companies and FinTechs (including Altoo AG), written surveys of banks and sourcing providers, literature studies and a workshop with industry representatives. It is intended to contribute to a holistic understanding of the topic and to form a well-founded basis for the discussions in the individual institutes, but also between different banks and between individual institutes and FinTechs as well as industry organizations and associations. The study analyzes the strategic level at banks and examines the activities and effects on IT. As one of the most important findings, the study shows that many banks underestimate open banking and the impact that this development will have. The bank perspective of the customer interface must be reconsidered. According to the experts interviewed, the fear of losing this is currently the greatest obstacle to open banking. It is therefore necessary to examine how customer loyalty can be understood and implemented in the future. How can the bank continue to ensure that it is important to customers in the future? What services will customers expect from their bank in the future and how would they like to use them? What role does this entail for the bank? But there are also questions to be answered, such as which partners should or must we work with, how do we ensure that we are technologically capable of doing so and many more. At Altoo we are members of the Open Wealth Association and with the Altoo Wealth Platform we already help banks to come to terms with the topic of the customer interface as it relates to global wealth, open banking and the greater transparency it creates, as well as the opportunities for clients and banks to work together in new and exciting ways. You can find out more about the Altoo Wealth Platform here, or simply use the form to contact us. The IFZ Open Banking Study 2022 can be downloaded for free via the Hochschule Luzern (HSLU) blog (the full report is in German).