Open Banking Limited

About

Open Banking Limited (OBL), formerly the OBIE, is the Implementation Entity described in the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Order, and it built the UK's Open Banking Standard and industry guidelines. Open banking was one of the recommendations in the CMA's 2016 report on the UK retail banking market, and since 2018 it has let customers and SMEs share their current account information securely with third-party providers. The CMA announced the completion of the Implementation Roadmap in January 2023, and OBL is preparing to transition to a future entity, looking to the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC) for recommendations on its design. Its work includes supporting the Trustee's supervision of the CMA9 banks, publishing and maintaining the Open Banking Standard and Customer Experience Guidelines, and operating the Open Banking Directory, which it describes as the trust framework at the heart of open banking. It also gives financial institutions, card providers and third-party providers technical help from certification and onboarding through to ongoing support, along with a Directory sandbox and a platform for managing disputes and complaints.