Senior management at European financial institutions see an opportunity in open banking, but a lack of internal alignment risks holding firms back from realising its potential, suggests a survey from Tink.
Tink quizzed 290 financial executives from 12 European countries, finding diverging views on open banking across different parts of the business. Over two-thirds of the C-suite see the opportunity that open banking presents right across their organisation, with a majority believing it provides good value for money 67% saying the benefits outweigh the potential costs.
Nearly two thirds of channel owners, responsible for the online, mobile or developer interfaces, also recognise the open banking opportunity across their organisation. In contrast, just 45% of product owners feel the same way.
Differing views on skills and resourcing requirements may go some way to explaining the levels of buy in. The majority of respondents in financial institutions are positive about having the talent available within the organisation to execute on open banking objectives (59% on average).
Those who work in IT are the most confident (65%) they have the skills to deliver on open banking, followed by groups working with management (61%) and digital or mobile banking channels (60%). However, only 43% of product owners are confident their team has the required resources to capitalise on open banking.
This might explain a lack of agreement on whether products and services being offered to customers are taking full advantage of the organisation’s open banking capabilities. The majority of those within the IT department (67%) say they believe open banking capabilities are being leveraged in this way. This is in stark contrast to 32% of executives in the digital and mobile banking department who feel the same.
Rafael Plantier, UK and Ireland country manager, Tink, says: "Whilst fast-growing challengers in the industry continue to make moves, banks remain in the best position to offer integrated open banking services. As custodians of money and providers of financial services they already have a solid foundation of customers that trust them and are therefore willing to share data.
"However, we should not underestimate the enormity of the task that financial institutions face in transforming their operations to become open banking ready. It is to be expected that there are differing levels of buy in for open banking across the organisation, and pockets of the business that may lag behind in embracing the opportunity.
"As those in the C-suite evolve their open banking strategy, there is opportunity to fill possible knowledge or culture gaps to ensure alignment. Whether it be through strategic fintech partnerships, acquisitions or internal re-alignment, banks can ensure they are well placed in the race to create the best possible customer experience from open banking."