Latest Open Banking Trends & Thought Leadership

Smart data and the Data Use and Access Act

The UK's Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 is seen as the foundation for what comes next. It enables secondary legislation for a long-term regulatory framework for open banking and paves the way for smart data schemes beyond banking—energy, telecoms, retail, transport, and more. Industry voices stress that 2026 will see incremental progress: fewer "big bang" launches and more groundwork, with the Act quietly enabling new commercial schemes and cross-sector data sharing.

So with smart data, we're going to see some incremental progress there. Maybe no other big scheme launches, but lots of work going on behind the scenes… Now we have the Data Use and Access Bill [Act].

Open Banking Expo — on 2026 and smart data

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is working on a cross-economy smart data strategy, with an ambition to deliver many government-led smart data schemes by 2035, supported by investment in common standards and interoperability.

CVRP, VRP and smarter payments

Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) for sweeping (e.g. moving money from a current account to a savings account) are live across the UK's major banks. The focus is now on Commercial VRPs (cVRPs)—recurring account-to-account payments for bills, subscriptions, charities, and e-commerce. cVRPs are positioned as a modern alternative to Direct Debits and card-on-file, giving consumers control over payment amounts and caps.

The launch of cVRP – the open banking payments solution – becomes a new form of payment for e-commerce… We've got a lot of charities very excited about the potential with CVRP as a replacement potentially for direct debits.

Industry view on cVRP

Regulators and industry bodies are developing rulebooks, multilateral agreements, and commercial models so cVRPs can scale. Wave 1 use cases often include regulated utilities, government, FCSC-protected financial services, and charitable donations, with e-commerce and broader retail to follow.

For more on how VRPs work in practice, see our guide on VRP open banking.

Open banking to open finance

Open finance extends data sharing beyond current accounts to savings, pensions, insurance, investments, and mortgages. In the UK, the FCA is expected to publish an Open Finance Roadmap, and a statutory instrument from HM Treasury could formally introduce open finance. Industry leaders describe excitement as "more tangible than ever," with open banking providing the blueprint for broader financial data access and better outcomes for consumers and SMEs.

The excitement behind open finance is more tangible than I think I've ever known. The new regulatory footing for open banking, the future entity, and hopefully a statutory instrument from treasury, that will mean the introduction of open finance.

Industry view on open finance

Open finance is expected to improve lending decisions, affordability checks, and product comparison—especially for SMEs and financially vulnerable consumers—by combining open banking data with other verified datasets.

Open banking as the foundation of the smart data economy

Many commentators frame open banking not only as a payments and data innovation but as one of the core use cases that will integrate with other sectors in a smart data economy. Cross-sector integration—including health, energy, and government services—is repeatedly cited as the defining shift from "payments innovation" to "data working for people."

We're going to a smart data economy and open banking being one of the fundamental use cases that will integrate with loads of other sectors… It's going to be a big step towards unlocking the kind of broader smart data economy in the UK with the Data Use and Access Bill [Act] really coming to fruition.

OBL / industry

Collaboration and the "landmark year"

A recurring theme is that 2026 has been called a landmark year because the industry has seen that it can come together and capitalise on sharing data. More commercial schemes, clearer governance, and a future entity to lead standards are seen as the way to make the ecosystem sustainable and to extend benefits to end users, SMEs, and the wider economy.

I am really excited about 2026. It's been called the Landmark Year, and it's because people have seen that they can come together and capitalise on sharing data… More and more commercial schemes are going to be set up for the benefit of end users and SMEs. So that we have an entire ecosystem which can be vibrant and can finally capitalise on all their investments.

OBL