On April 14, the UK’s independent financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), announced the release of an “open finance roadmap,” aiming to transcend the current operating limits of open banking by providing consumers and businesses with greater control over, and the ability to share with secure third parties, a broader set of their financial data. The FCA posited that open finance could improve access to mortgages, investments, savings, and pensions; give firms a more complete picture of consumers’ and businesses’ finances; and enable more competitive pricing, tailored support for users, and stronger fraud protection.

The FCA acknowledged several barriers to adoption, including consumer privacy concerns, business liability, compliance issues, and the risk of inconsistent regulatory oversight, among others. To address these challenges, the FCA plans to engage with industry stakeholders throughout 2026 to develop use cases through its “Smart Data Accelerator” and “Prioritisation and Real-world Insights Selection Matrix” (PRISM) taskforce, with an initial focus on lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and improving consumers’ access to mortgages. The FCA noted it will also collaborate with the UK’s HM Treasury on a regulatory framework for open finance by the end of 2027 and engage with the sector through 2030 to ensure robust consumer protections as open finance programs are implemented.