The Open Banking Revolution

Blog by pro-manchester comms manager Mel Hill: Interview with Anthony Morrow – CEO, OpenMoney

A report by Which? in 2017 revealed that 92% of people have never heard of open banking. Over recent years open banking has become one of the most accessible fintech revolutions to date and is changing the way in which people manage their finances.

What is open banking?

In short, open banking means that your financial providers have to share your financial information (this includes balances, transaction history and spending habits) with third parties, so long as you give them permission to do so.

These third parties dubbed ‘account aggregators’ access your financial information through your bank, building society, loan and credit card providers to compile all your balances and transactions in one place, often in an app.

​What are the benefits?

Anthony Morrow, CEO and Co-founder of online financial advice service OpenMoney, believes that this innovation is revolutionising the industry for the better, “Open banking is evolving financial services to make managing money easier and more transparent for customers, something we’ve always championed.”

“The ability to see a snap-shot of your overall financial position in one place, will allow people to get a better in-depth understanding of their finances.”

Whilst open banking encourages innovation and competition in the finance industry, Anthony says it can also lead to better outcomes for consumers with the collection and use of their data.

“Many of these apps allow you to analyse your spending across accounts and create budgets and savings goals for the future.”

“At OpenMoney we believe financial advice should be accessible and affordable for everyone. Our app uses data insights and analyses spending habits to provide personalised advice for every single customer. Our technology gives advice that’s truly in the best interests of our customers and allows them to make better decisions over their finances.”

Whilst we are still in the early stages of the open banking phenomenon, it’s brought more choice and transparency into the financial services industry and people are now being given the tools and guidance to make the best use of their cash possible.

Anthony Morrow will be speaking at our Trailblazing Tech Conference. The conference will explore innovative ways Greater Manchester’s businesses are leading the way and changing traditional sectors. For more information, head to our website.