As Australia prepares for Open Banking and its equivalent of the GDPR – the Consumer Data Right – Priviti, a global fintech and regtech company with offices in Ireland, London, Singapore and Sydney, has announced a partnership agreement with Australian fintech company Accurassi.
The announcement comes at Money20/20 Europe, where Priviti has joined an Enterprise Ireland fintech trade delegation. Founded in 2002, Accurassi provides data services to the energy market, financial services and state governments. Its proprietary platform enables personalised comparisons of energy providers using data from consumers’ utility bills.
Following the Australian government’s response to the Review into Open Banking in 2018, Australia’s major banks will be required to make data available on credit and debit card, deposit and transaction accounts and mortgages by February 2020. The government’s legislated Consumer Data Right gives Australians greater control over their data and enables them to choose to share their data with trusted recipients for purposes they have authorised. This will first apply to the banking sector, followed by the energy and telecommunications sectors.
Seizing the opportunity, Accurassi is launching its marketplace solution with banks and energy suppliers in the next few months and using consumer utility bill data to power personalised energy comparison services. The Priviti API will be embedded into the user experience to provide explicit authorisation to energy retailers for the release of bills to Accurassi. Priviti’s patented technology enables companies to give customers enhanced control over how their data is shared and to comply with Open Banking and data protection and privacy laws such as the GDPR. Priviti has contributed to global reports and consultations on Open Banking and data privacy. Its scalable, secure technology never views, stores or monetises customer identifiable data.
Speaking at Money 20/20 Europe, Dermot McCann, Priviti’s Head of APAC, said: “Priviti is excited to work with Accurassi in this new, multi-vertical and customer-centric era for data sharing and data privacy in Australia with Open Banking and the Consumer Data Right. In Europe, PSD2 and the GDPR caused a paradigm shift in attitudes toward data sharing and data privacy. We are empowering companies like Accurassi to give consumers control over their data, build trust and deliver enhanced customer experience, value and choice.”
Ross Sharman, CEO of Accurassi, said:“Accurassi is leading the way in Open Banking, energy and financial services innovation in Australia and collaborating with Priviti to enhance customer experience and provide a seamless and personalised savings experience. Currently consumers need to find a PDF version of their latest energy bill to use on EnergySwitch, the NSW Government Comparison service, or in the Accurassi marketplace. Priviti will help remove this friction point and ensure automated and secure provision of utility bills on issuance to Accurassi’s marketplace, enabling us to add value and improve efficiency for consumers and financial institutions.”