FCA’s PRISM Taskforce publishes Open Finance use case impact findings

When considering the impact of Open Finance, the common infrastructure, governance and operating model choices are just as important as the individual services, according to a new outcomes report published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

This is one of the key findings from the Prioritisation and Real-world Insights Selection Matrix (PRISM) Taskforce, which earlier this year developed an “industry-informed assessment framework” to consider the potential impact of Open Finance use cases.

The FCA said the 33 industry participants highlighted the conditions they saw as important for Open Finance to develop and scale.

The Taskforce also concluded that Open Finance provides the foundations for AI and agentic finance, given that it “enables trusted data access and shares the building blocks these technologies need to develop safely, including interoperability, governance and accountability”.

The Taskforce also emphasised the importance of data quality, provenance and trust, to encourage confidence and adoption.

Another key finding from the report is that “value depends on whether consumers and businesses see sufficient value to engage with services, and whether those services fit real customer journeys, operational processes and commercial models”.

Simone Plances, manager, Smart Data Accelerator at the FCA, said on LinkedIn: “This work reflects months of collaboration across industry to develop a practical framework for assessing the potential impact of Open Finance and understanding the conditions needed for scaling.

“One of the most valuable outcomes has been shifting the conversation from ‘what could be possible?’ to ‘what would need to be true for success?’. That perspective helps create a more evidence-based and transparent foundation for future decisions around Open Finance.”

Plances said one of the insights that stood out was “strong consensus on the need for shared foundations and infrastructure”, while the other is that Open Finance is “ultimately an ecosystem challenge, with a range of building blocks that need to be in place to enable development, adoption and scale”.

The FCA confirmed that the PRISM assessment framework will support the next phase of its work on Open Finance.

Simone Plances is speaking at Open Banking Expo UK & Europe on 13-14 October at the Business Design Centre in London. Check out the agenda and buy your ticket here.

Watch the latest episode of Open Banking Expo In Focus, ‘The Future of Open Finance in the UK’ with Ozone API and the FCA.