Open banking and inclusive finance in the European Union:perspectives from the Dutch stakeholder ecosystem

In the European Union(EU),the revised Payment Services Directive(PSD2)aims to provide more convenient and customized financial products through open banking(OB)platforms.However,little attention has been paid to the role of OB in improving the financial well-being of the growing number of the EU’s underserved groups,which currently constitute approximately a quarter of its population.This study examines how the PSD2 and OB impact inclusive finance in the EU based on the perspectives of the Netherlands’ecosystem,one of the leaders in the EU’s financial technology(FinTech)landscape.A fundamental distinction can be drawn between the OB users and the ecosystem’s players.Regarding the impact of financial services on the users’inclusivity,while the PSD2 strengthens the infrastructure necessary for financial inclusion,many challenges remain,mainly because it was not designed for this purpose.This study identifies several areas of improvement that include adjustments to the know your customer and anti-money laundering processes for underserved customers,innovative ways to communicate the PSD2’s potential,and the regulation of technology providers’activities to build trust.Meanwhile,from the ecosystem’s position,there is a need to strengthen and improve microfinance regulation according to the opportunities provided by the PSD2 to support microfinance institutions(MFIs)in scaling up and reaching underserved clients across borders with innovative services.OB improvements can also be achieved by organizations formed by MFIs and FinTechs in collaboration with banks.Such hybrid institutions will combine the best features of each of them:knowledge of the needs of local underserved clients from MFIs,technological innovations from FinTechs,and large and trusted customer bases,infrastructures,and access to institutional investments and governments from banks.Finally,an EU inclusive OB sector depends on the centrality of trusted regulators as coordination bodies.The PSD2 requires adjustments for underserved populations’specific needs.OB improvements can be achieved by organizations formed by MFIs and Fin-Techs in collaboration with banks.Regulated technical service providers(TSPs)are crucial to building trust and customer adoption in OB.The European Banking Authority(EBA)may function as coordination body to design inclusive rules by engaging with OB stakeholders.As inclusive finance moves into open-finance and data eras,an increasing regulatory complexity and scope will require networks of innovative and trusted regulators.

NEW REGULATION BY THE PEOPLE'S BANK OF CHINA-TRADING B STOCKS ABROAD,OPENING ACCOUNTS IN CHINA

The People’s Bank of China promulgated andput in force days ago Regulation on Foreign Ex-change Accounts in China, according to which for-eign individuals or legal persons can open foreignexchange accounts to keep foreign exchange fortrading B stock in China.As stipulated by the regulation, as to foreigncurrency stock accounts opened bydomestic insti-tutions with the income from issuing stocks, theirreceipt shall be income from issuing stocks anddisbursement shall be used for the purposes pro-vided for in the prospectus approved by securitiessupervising organs; as to foreign exchange ac-counts opened by foreign individuals or legal per-sons for trading B stocks in China.their receipt shallbe the income of trading stocks and foreign ex-change remitted or brought in from abroad, andtheir disbursement shall be used for buying andselling stocks.As provided in the regulation, for the purposeof opening B stock account to trade B stocks

How does a data strategy enable customer value?The case of FinTechs and traditional banks under the open finance framework

The coupling of data and digital innovation opens the way for new business in the financial services sector,where customers are placed at the centre of decisions and data can help to develop customer knowledge.To carry out our research,we adopted a multi-case study approach to explore how a data strategy is developed in the retail banking industry,together with its relationship with customer value,paying particular attention to the heterogeneity between traditional banks and financial technology companies(FinTechs).Two main points emerged from the study.Firstly,there are three possible approaches to Open Finance,which are mainly defined by their different corporate cultures,organisational configurations,technological architecture and data value.Secondly,it is not enough to be a FinTech to be best placed to exploit the market,as some traditional banks share the FinTechs’approach to Open Finance.Designing new tailored products,customising their prices and offering them over the right channels through targeted communication are all data-driven initiatives that stem from cross-or up-selling potential,core to the retail banking industry for turning a customer into a cash flow,thus enabling value to be created for customers.Our findings additionally revealed that there is a form of external information asymmetry between the customer and the bank,and that there is also an internal asymmetry between bank departments,as their visibility on information about the same customer may differ.

Fuzzy Decision Model: Evaluating and Selecting Open Banking Business Partners

The finance supply chain has always been a different supply chain compared to product supply chain being a service supply chain.Open Banking(OB)is one of the most important milestones since the beginning of financial technology innovation and service supply chain.As these are activities provided by traditional banks,non-bank financial institutions also provide financial service with access to consumer banking,transactional and other financial data to develop financial applications and services tailored to their customers.The development of financial technology,“Open banking”,promotes financial services to begin this transformation.However,evaluating and selecting open banking business partners from multiple perspectives for banks are underexplored.Thus,the authors in this research proposed a hybrid multicriteria decision-making model which includes a Spherical Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process(SF-AHP)model and a Multi-Attributive Ideal-Real Comparative Analysis(MAIRCA)model with supports from seasoned domain experts.The contribution of this research is a proposition of a fuzzy decision model for evaluating and selecting open banking business partners.The model successfully determined a suitable open bank provider in order to assist decision makers decide objectively.

Banking On More Openness

Banks—both domestic and foreign—should profit from greater market flexibility