On 14 April 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a roadmap in relation to open finance, intended to set out its vision for a smart data future.
Background
The FCA explained that it considers banking and financial services occupy a central place in the Government’s Smart Data Strategy and that open finance, in particular, will be a critical enabler for developing smart data schemes across sectors. It further explains that it had made clear in its strategy for 2025 to 2030, that it was committed to setting out a delivery plan to help unlock open finance to 2030.
Summary
The FCA sets out its vision for open finance, focussing in particular on:
- Increased competition and innovation: The FCA explains that it considers that its vision for open finance will facilitate broader access to smart data, which will increase competitive pressures on data holders and facilitate market entry for new firms.
- Inclusive consumer and SME outcomes: The FCA set out that it considers that through driving greater innovation and competition, open finance offers significant opportunities to deliver better value and choice for consumers and businesses.
- Enhanced economic growth: The FCA highlights that open finance could lead to improved productivity, competition and international competitiveness within financial services to support growth.
Collaborating with industry
The FCA sets out key activities for collaborating with industry which include:
- TechSprints, research and testing (initially in Q1 and Q4 2026) to experiment, innovate and learn, demonstrating how open finance can tackle challenges faced by consumers, businesses and firms, and exploring the data and technology infrastructure required to unlock new business models.
- Engaging with external stakeholders, including through a PolicySprint in Q2 2026, to build consensus on where open finance can improve consumer journeys and outcomes, and to identify what industry will need from a future framework to unlock access to key data sets.
- Seeking views on regulation by publishing a discussion paper in Q4 2026 focused on the first open finance scheme, followed by consideration of a long-term regulatory framework, working with the Treasury on options in 2027.
- Testing innovation through recently concluded TechSprints on SME lending and mortgages (November 2025 – February 2026) as part of the Smart Data Accelerator, where participating firms tested products using synthetic data and developed solutions such as AI-enhanced affordability assessment tools and reusable data packages for loan applications.
- Developing a Prioritisation and Real-world Insights Selection Matrix (PRISM) via an FCA-led taskforce by Q3 2026, bringing together industry, consumer groups, academia and technical experts to assess the impact of use cases on consumer outcomes, competition, growth and innovation.
- Collaborating with the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum on the Consumer Duty and its interactions with data protection, as well as supporting industry-led initiatives such as the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology’s SME Access to Credit coalition.
- International collaboration, including participation in Project Aperta (a Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub Hong Kong project), to explore cross-border data portability and open finance use cases such as SME bank account opening and cross-border trade finance
Delivering the vision
The FCA also sets out its plan for delivering on its vision for open finance up to 2030, in particular that it will focus on the following:
- 2026: Collaboration to prioritise what open finance should deliver, including that it will:
- Prioritise high-impact use cases where open finance can deliver benefits most quickly, starting with lending to SMEs, and improving consumers’ access to mortgages.
- Build robust evidence through sprints and structured experiments, testing what works in practice and where barriers remain.
- Draw on stakeholder expertise and insights to identify the impact of future use cases on consumer outcomes, competition, growth and innovation.
- Work closely with industry, consumer groups and the Government to assess delivery models, incentives and the role of industry-led solutions.
- Invite views on how its regulations can unlock benefits for consumers, businesses and firms, and promote the safe and responsible adoption of open finance, starting with a discussion paper on the first scheme.
- 2027: framework design and coordination, including:
- Use the evidence from earlier phases to shape options for the long-term regulatory framework for open finance and seek views on these.
- Identify where common frameworks, shared infrastructure or governance arrangements are needed to unlock benefits at scale.
- 2028 to 2030: scale and deliver, including:
- Collaborate with industry on the launch of sustainable open finance schemes with clear governance, high standards of consumer protection and interoperability.
- Review its priorities as markets evolve, new technologies emerge, and we identify more high-impact use cases.