Open Banking Limited marks eight years of Open Banking in the UK

Source: Open Banking Limited

Open Banking Limited (OBL) today (13 January) marks the 8th anniversary of Open Banking in the UK – an innovation born when PSD2 officially came into effect – and a pivotal moment for the UK economy.

This milestone comes as the FCA, in a recent letter to the Prime Minister, identified Open Banking as a key initiative to drive national growth and unlock new use cases, particularly SME lending. OBL is proud to celebrate eight years of progress that have transformed how millions of people and businesses manage, move and make sense of their money.

Since its launch in January 2018, Open Banking has evolved from a regulatory initiative, instigated under the Competition and Markets Authority’s Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017, into a core part of the UK’s financial infrastructure, underpinning innovation, competition and growth across payments, lending, money management and beyond.

Today, more than 16.5 million user connections are live across the UK, supported by a growing ecosystem of 145 authorised third-party providers, delivering services used daily by consumers, small businesses and public bodies. Open Banking-enabled solutions have contributed over £4 billion to the UK economy with account-to-account payments growing rapidly as businesses and consumers benefit from faster, secure and cost-effective ways to pay.

OBL has driven this success by building and maintaining the UK’s world-leading Open Banking Standard, as well as convening banks, fintechs, and regulators to turn policy ambition into practical delivery. OBL’s work has helped ensure that Open Banking operates as a public good, with secure data sharing and a consistent technical framework that supports trust and adoption at scale.

More recently, OBL has played a central role in advancing new capabilities such as Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs), expanding the choice and flexibility available to consumers and businesses, and helping Open Banking take a more prominent role in the UK payments ecosystem.

As Open Banking enters its next chapter, the focus is shifting from proving the model to scaling its impact. The infrastructure, standards and lessons developed through Open Banking can be leveraged to provide a strong foundation for Open Finance and the UK’s broader Smart Data agenda once rules and regulations under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 have been made.

Secure data sharing has the potential to unlock innovation well beyond retail banking, supporting new services across areas such as pensions, investments, insurance, energy, telecoms, and housing.

Henk Van Hulle, chief executive officer of Open Banking Limited

The real cross-sector value is already emerging; mortgages that recognise current account history; energy switching that reflects real payments behaviour – these are verified attributes that travel with the user. OBL believes that by reusing proven approaches across sectors, the UK can accelerate delivery, ensure interoperability, and maximise the economic and social value of Smart Data.

Commenting on the anniversary, Henk van Hulle, chief executive officer of Open Banking Limited, said: “In just eight years, Open Banking Limited has helped build an ecosystem that people and businesses across the UK now use as part of everyday financial life, sometimes without even realising.

“The UK has created something genuinely world-leading; the priority now is to put the right long-term structures in place so that advantage is protected and can continue to grow to support as many businesses and consumers as possible to better engage with, and make the most of, their finances.”

Further reading: Feature – what’s in store for the UK and European ecosystem in 2026?