CreDec was authorised on the first day of Open Banking, the new regulatory regime that came into force on 13 January 2018, which provides for open access to UK online personal and business current accounts.
Open Banking makes it possible for CreDec to provide payment and account information services directly to customers from their connected bank accounts, from CreDec’s own website. Customers can now instruct payments and access their account information via authorised third-party providers.
Open Banking, which the UK clearing banks agreed as the competition remedy with the UK Competition & Markets Authority, requires the 9 principal UK clearing banks to give access to their customer’s accounts to any authorised provider.
These regulatory changes ensure bank customers will no longer have to depend exclusively on their bank to execute their payments or sponsor their access to domestic payment schemes such as Faster Payments and BACS.
UK Payment Services Regulations 2017
The initiative follows the adoption of the new UK Payment Services Regulations 2017 that give effect to the EU’s second payment services directive (PSD2), but which go further than the European directive requires.
Open Banking payment initiation and account information services use highly secure API standards and rely on strong customer authentication to keep customer’s information and credit balances safe.
Bank account holders and account signatories use the personal security credentials issued to them personally by their own banks, their private internet banking security information, to access information and authorise their payment transactions, from CreDec, but in a way that ensures this information cannot be intercepted, accessed or stored by anyone, including CreDec.
Open Banking marks the beginning of a significant change in the UK payments landscape and opens up the potential for significant payments innovation.
Alex Meynell, CEO of CreDec said, “We’ve waited a long time for open access and it will take some time for the banks to adopt the full functionality Open Banking provides for, but this is a radical and welcome step for true payments’ innovation”.
CreDec is authorised for Payment Initiation and Account Information Services (PIS & AIS). Its entry on the Open Banking website is available here.