The Open Banking Revolution: Invisible, Customer-First, Feel Good

Open Banking legislation was introduced 2 years ago. But for many small business owners, the benefits are only just becoming clear. We look at the findings of The Future Laboratory’s new report ‘The Open Banking Revolution: Invisible, Customer-First, Feel Good’ and ask if you and your business are ready to reap the potential rewards. It’s clear that this could be a seismic shift in the way we end up managing our money in the future. 

Understanding Open Banking

Open Banking is the talk of the country’s financial institutions, but only 60% of small business decision makers in the UK have even heard of it. This is one of the most shocking findings of The Future Laboratory’s report. After all, in the coming years the way we share financial data may determine the success of individual enterprises. It’s a future that Intuit’s Chris Evans, certainly believes in.

“The Open Banking revolution will empower the small business owners who want to do things differently and embrace new and better ways of working. We can already see how our customers are benefiting from cleaner, richer data from their bank connection within QuickBooks.  And, as the full extent of Open Banking capabilities materialise, those who want to power their productivity will build personalised suites of financial services that suit their individual needs and supercharge their competitiveness in market..”

Chris Evans, Vice President and Country Manager UK, Intuit QuickBooks

A bright future for small business

The Open Banking revolution promises to provide a boost for the nation’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. At QuickBooks we’re already seeing the advantages of secure and seamless banking connections in close-to-real-time. It’s is just the start of bespoke solutions for every unique business need. The report paints the picture of a future in which a single business app could potentially let small business owners:

• manage all their banking needs

• communicate with their staff

• oversee everyday business logistics

– all in one place. It may sound like wishful thinking, but in China, WeChat already covers everything from insurance to investments and from invoicing to peer-to-peer payments. 

A more positive approach to banking

The report identifies three major trends resulting from Open Banking. It predicts that they will shape business for the decade ahead and lead to more positive feelings about financial management.

1. Feel-good Banking: Open Banking will encourage a real intelligence derived from small business owners’ data through Artificial Intelligence, giving them control and reducing the financial stresses and administrative burdens that come with running a business today.

2. Invisible Banking: Open Banking is ushering in a new age of hyper-convenience, known as Banking as a Service (BaaS). Banks will shift towards becoming intelligent and invisible, and involve business owners taking meaningful decisions while administrative tasks happen seamlessly in the background.

3. Customer-First Banking: Open Banking is providing small businesses greater ownership of their data. They will have more control and choice to build their “Financial Wardrobe” – products personalised to their needs that power their productivity and success.

It looks clear that Open Banking is on track to drive growth at both an individual and global level. When combined with the benefits of Artificial Intelligence, it could potentially help to reduce the financial stresses and administrative burdens that come with running a business today. 

For more information about how QuickBooks can help solve everyday issues for small businesses, visit QuickBooks today.