The community was initiated by Synpulse, a global management consulting company and trusted partner of financial service providers, joined by St.Galler Kantonalbank, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and three manufacturers of portfolio management systems. During the following two years, the number of members increased to 61.
What is Open Banking?
The Open API standard should be set for a global management community. The OpenWealth Association aims to foster the exchange of expertise among its members and with third parties, as well as to cooperate with organizations of similar nature in Switzerland and abroad. (See also www.openwealth.ch.)
Open banking is a banking practice that affords third-party financial service providers free access to consumer banking, transactions, and other financial data from banks and non-bank financial institutions. This is made possible by application programming interfaces (APIs). Thus, the customer relationship and retention can be strengthened, above all by forward-thinking banks adopting open banking practices.
Holistic Personal Balance Sheet
For family offices, OpenWealth affords opportunities to consume real-time banking services easily and cost-efficiently and serve their clients in the best possible way without imposing a lock-in on custody banks (see also www.altoo.ch). The OpenWealth Association philosophy and standardised practices are enjoying rapid adoption in Switzerland and beyond, with the major players in wealth tech like Altoo, WealthArc, AssetMax, PSplus, Investment Navigator, aixigo, etops, Divizend all getting on board.
Elevate Your Wealth Game: Empowering UHNWIs for Simplified Asset Management. Altoo Platform Preview
Last year, Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, became a member of the Association. “We are proud that after just one year we are already working with seven major custodian banks and more than 30 wealth techs and service providers in the association”, Open Wealth Association and Synpulse partner Raphael Bianchi said.
According to Forbes magazine, creating a holistic personal balance sheet and overview is far more challenging for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices than for general clientele. OpenWealth aims to increase efficiency for all involved parties: family offices, banks, and software providers. This presents a unique opportunity for financial institutions. Those who become early adopters of open banking practices and facilitate intuitive digital outputs will initially have a competitive edge.
