• Six months to Open Banking phase two when customers can digitally access and securely share their bank transaction data to get the most from their finances

• The initiative will encourage financial service providers to offer high quality, targeted services, boosting competition

• The industry must embrace the new banking era – this is not a compliance chore

Roger Vincent, Head of Banking and Innovation at Equifax, comments:

“The banking industry is set for a huge customer-centric shake-up with the implementation of Open Banking phase two in January 2018. This exciting development will dramatically change the customer banking experience, helping consumers and businesses to use their financial transaction data to access products more easily and better understand their finances.  

“The initiative kicked off earlier this year with stage one, where the ‘CMA9’ (nine banks mandated by the Competition and Markets Authority) provided improved access to information such as ATM locations and product listings. The second stage is the real game changer, with bank transaction data made available digitally for consumers and businesses to share securely, and only with their agreed consent, via open application program interfaces (APIs). Through the open APIs the data can be used by authorised third parties to build new high quality and targeted services, including new digital offerings, facilitating a more competitive environment.

 “The ability for transaction data to be used for automated creditworthiness and affordability assessments, fraud detection and product accessibility is endless. Customers will be able to control how their financial data is shared digitally and provide a deeper picture of the way they manage their money. This could mean a quicker, more secure and fully digital mortgage application process or faster access to finance for a new business venture. For those currently underserved by the market, for example young people or the self-employed, it could mean the start of a journey to better financial health.

“Over the next six months, banks need to embrace the move towards a more transparent banking world. To do this successfully, preparations must focus on meeting the long-term practical benefits of consumer empowered data sharing rather than approaching this change as a tick-box compliance activity.”

-Ends-

Video: For further information on the impact of Open Banking on the UK finance sector please click here

Video: For further information on the costs of Open Banking versus the customer benefits please click here

Notes to editors:

For further information, please contact:

Alastair Doyle or Sonam Patel

Four Broadgate

Email: Equifax@fourbroadgate.com

Telephone: +44(0) 20 3697 4200

About Equifax

Equifax is a global information solutions company that uses trusted unique data, innovative analytics, technology and industry expertise to power organizations and individuals around the world by transforming knowledge into insights that help make more informed business and personal decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its database includes employee data contributed from more than 7,100 employers.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,700 employees worldwide.

Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Named to the Top 100 American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015-2016); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2016); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2016); named one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015-2016). For more information, visit www.equifax.com.

Equifax Limited is one of the Equifax group companies based in the UK. Equifax Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Equifax and Open Banking

Equifax is an active participant in the Open Banking Implementation Entity, helping to shape the guidance on how the Open Banking Standards will be implemented and maintained. The aim of Open Banking is to enable people to securely and seamlessly share their bank transaction data, for example when applying for a mortgage, or when looking for deals on a comparison site, alleviating the need for manual processes.

Equifax is working closely with a number of participants and the wider industry to develop products and transition to a new environment of consumer empowered data sharing. The initiative builds on the longstanding experience Equifax has in collating, managing and analysing extensive data, while maintaining the highest standards in data security and privacy.