On 18 October 2023, the FCA published a press release confirming that the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC) welcomes Open Banking Limited’s (OBL’s) submission of two data collection frameworks, on the themes of ‘Levelling up availability and performance’ and ‘Mitigating the risks of financial crime’.

This marks the completion of the first two deliverables under the four themes that OBL was asked to consider by the JROC in its April 2023 publication on recommendations for the next phase of open banking in the UK. The FCA notes that it also aligns with the findings that the Strategic Working Group published in February 2023, where there was broad support from ecosystem members to address these gaps.

The data on levelling up availability and performance is intended to give insight on how often outages happen and provide OBL the opportunity to investigate whether further clarification or changes to the application programming interface (API) standards are needed. The framework utilises a four phased approach to the delivery of the required data metrics over time, based on the depth and complexity of the requirement. The objective is to support consumers and businesses access to high-performing and reliable services that enhance user experience and continue to build trust in the ecosystem.

The new framework to mitigate the risks of financial crime aims to enhance financial crime reporting, increasing understanding of the level of fraud occurring within the open banking channel. The FCA flags that a comprehensive evidence base on financial crime in open banking is key to enable the ecosystem to scale and evolve safely. Building on existing reporting requirements, the framework will collect data on the total open banking payments by volume and value, and the total open banking fraud volume and value each on a monthly basis.

In terms of next steps, the OBL will undertake the first data collection by relying on the voluntary submissions from third-party providers and account servicing payment service providers. The submissions received under these frameworks will be shared with the Payment Systems Regulator and the FCA as co-chairs of the JROC and the findings will support their policy thinking, including considerations on potential changes to reporting requirements and, if necessary, further consultations. Firms are actively encouraged to participate by submitting their data.