Banking is one of the sectors where “smart data” projects are finding consumer-facing success. Brazil’s Pix direct payment system, used by 80% of the population, is underpinned by an open banking framework, and the figures are compelling. In Brazil connections to the interfaces of the open finance system, known as APIs, are topping 4 billion per week. Much of this success is driven by executing 7 billion transactions a month,(1) dwarfing debit and credit card transactions in the country.

In the UK direct payments, underpinned by open banking, are becoming more widely available and the UK Payments Initiative – established under the auspices of the Financial Conduct Authority – has just been launched to provide alternatives to card-based subscriptions and direct debits.