UK’s FCA Seeks Feedback on Future Open Banking Standard-Setting Body

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will continue to engage with the industry as it works to establish a new standard-setting body for open banking later this year.

This new body will support the rollout of variable recurring payments for some types of household bills, the regulator said in a Friday (August 8) press release announcing its publication of a feedback statement that summarizes and responds to the comments it has received from industry about this project so far.

Currently called the “Future Entity,” the new body will succeed the current Open Banking Limited (OBL) entity and will develop open banking standards and guidelines that go beyond OBL’s remit, according to the feedback statement.

The FCA received 31 responses to a call for input that it opened in April 2024 and closed in May 2024, according to the feedback statement. These responses came from individuals, consumer representatives, trade associations and firms.

“Respondents largely agreed that the Future Entity should be a company limited by guarantee,” FCA said in the feedback statement. “Although we no longer plan to establish an Interim Entity, feedback in relation to establishing the Interim Entity is guiding our work on the development of the Future Entity. Most respondents supported using an appointments committee to appoint the Board of the Interim Entity. There were mixed responses on how the board should take advice.”

The FCA plans to continue working with industry and other stakeholders ahead of its establishment of the Future Entity, according to the press release.

The new body is expected to provide open banking standards that will be used by open banking firms to promote innovation in the sector, monitor the quality and consistency of technologies used in open banking, and help inform the FCA’s supervision of firms, per the release.

“We expect the Future Entity to play a central role in the next phase of open banking, setting and monitoring the standards that underpin the industry,” Matthew Long, director of payments and digital finance at the FCA, said in the release. “However, we can’t realize this future alone. Our engagement and support from industry continues to play a vital role in the future of open banking, as we build on the momentum we’ve seen in the past six months.”

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