Open banking starts power shift to consumers
Change is coming for the financial services sector – and it could mean consumers will soon have the power to choose who they borrow money from, rather than applying for loans and hoping for the best.
Credit score provider CreditSimple has launched an online spending tracker, Money Simple.
It provides a dashboard for users to see where they spend their money across multiple accounts and credit cards, even with different banks and financial services providers.
The tracker pulls spending data from New Zealand banks including ANZ, ASB, Bank of New Zealand, The Co-operative Bank, Kiwibank, TSB, SBS and Westpac.
It’s an example of the growing move towards open banking – platforms sourcing data from banks and other financial providers and using it in new apps and platforms.
A pilot programme is under way in New Zealand focusing on making open banking as secure as possible.
CreditSimple chief executive David Scognamiglio said the Money Simple platform was designed to help consumers gain control of their spending.
When they saw all the information in one place, finding efficiencies would be easier, he said.
International moves towards open data and open banking were happening fast, and tracking spending was just the start.
Platforms such as this could also help consumers in areas such as tax, insurance, utilities and even loyalty points.
Credit was a natural place to start because it would remove the application process, he said, and replace it with one where lenders vied for business.
Banking expert Claire Matthews, of Massey University, said consumers would probably see more value in tracking their spending than in seeing their credit scores.