Expert: Jinesh Vohra, CEO, Sprive Facilitator: Kevin Mountford, Co-founder, Raisin UK
Headlines:
- In terms of the current market and growth seen over recent months, as of Feb 23 there were circa 7m ‘Open Banking’ users vs 5m 12 months previous and by July 23 there had been over 9m payments made via Open Banking which is 9% up on the previous month
- Sprive can use the power of AI & Open Banking to help homeowners effortlessly make mortgage overpayments, and they can support 8m homeowners across 12 lenders within the UK
- Based on Sprive’s experience there is an increasing willingness for customers to link their main account to the app and levels are already up to 35% and this will only increase based on the fact that trust and awareness will build overtime.
- Based on its current proposition Sprive is already able to provide the following customer benefits:
- Find spare cash
- One tap payment
- Track savings
- Home ownership
- Payments history
- Reduce charges
Discussion points:
When it comes to Open Banking and Open Finance, various solutions are already in play whereby consumers can connect with a wide range of financial products and services using this technology.
It was noted that the intro of this tech was driven by the government’s agenda to boost competition within the UK and it is now been used at a more global level.
This said, it was also recognised that more could be achieved as the technology was able to unlock a wide range of outcomes for both consumers and businesses, such as access to cheaper credit, boosting savings, etc. It was also exciting to note that there is already a transition through which x-sector benefits could be realised.
Specific mortgage ‘use cases’ that have been established off the back of research carried out by Bud. ranged as follows;
- A feature that helps me to get the best mortgage deal
- Helping to speed up the application process by sharing data from my bank account
- A feature that sweeps my surplus cash to paydown my mortgage debt
In reference to the various PFM / Apps that are now operating on the back of Open Banking technology these include the likes of Snoop, Plumb, Chip and Moneybox.
The discussion then turned to the likes of cash-back sites and the fact that they clearly connect various retailers, so the same could apply with Open Banking apps and this presents some real rich data in relation to consumer buying patterns which can be used to build and support B2B partnerships.
Thinking more about the mortgage sector, the discussion then shifted to how brokers and advisers could use Open Banking tech to help shape consumer discussions, needs and right outcomes. It may need a shift in business models.
The final focus was rewards that could be gained through everyday spending where cash back is used to paydown the mortgage and through the visualisation provided within the App in which a real tangible benefit could be realised.
Key takeaways:
- When it comes to how the mortgage process could be improved it is becoming increasingly clear that digitisation and adoption of new technology such as AI and Open Banking is playing a major part in achieving the desired outcome
- However, there needs to be an increase in adoption levels and surety that such changes operate in line with strict regulatory guidelines
- There is also a case whereby the main lenders mandate customers to link their bank account which in turn would help the underwriting process as well as support ongoing monitoring
