Open Banking Expo Awards 2026 shortlist revealed following record year for entries

The Open Banking Expo Awards 2026 shortlist has been revealed, following a record-breaking year that saw entries increase by 46% year on year.

Now in its seventh year, the Awards celebrate the organisations, initiatives, teams and individuals driving the development of Open Banking, Open Finance and the wider data-sharing ecosystem around the world.

This year’s shortlist spans 22 categories, recognising innovation across payments, fraud prevention, AI, customer experience, data, infrastructure, financial inclusion, regulation and industry leadership.

The significant increase in entries has also led to the evolution of several categories for 2026, reflecting the growing scale and maturity of the ecosystem.

For the first time, Best Use of AI in Open Banking & Open Finance has been divided into two awards: Customer Experience & Decisioning and Operations, Risk & Compliance, recognising the increasingly diverse ways AI is being deployed across the sector.

The Best Open Banking Infrastructure category has also expanded into Ecosystem Enablers and Platform Providers, distinguishing between the organisations helping to build the frameworks, standards and connectivity that underpin the ecosystem and those providing the technology platforms that enable Open Banking and Open Finance services. 

Industry leadership will also be recognised through two distinct awards this year: Industry Technology Leader of the Year and Industry Ecosystem Leader of the Year, alongside Advocate of the Year and the two Women in Open Banking individual awards.

Kelly Stanley, co-founder of Open Banking Expo, said: “A 46% increase in entries is a fantastic reflection of just how much the Open Banking and Open Finance ecosystem continues to grow and evolve.

“What has been particularly striking this year is the breadth of the entries. We’re seeing innovation coming from established financial institutions, fintechs and technology providers, but also increasingly from organisations applying Open Banking and Open Finance to solve very specific customer and industry challenges.

“That growth meant some of our categories had simply become too broad, so we’ve evolved the Awards with the market. The new categories around AI, infrastructure and industry leadership will allow our judges to compare like with like and properly recognise the different contributions being made across the ecosystem.

“Congratulations to everyone who has made this year’s shortlist. With a record number of entries, reaching this stage is a real achievement, and I’m looking forward to seeing what our judging panels make of an exceptionally strong field.”

Among the organisations appearing on the 2026 shortlist are HSBC, Monzo, Santander, Lloyds Banking Group, Experian, Symcor, Millennium bcp, PayPoint, Token.io, Volt, Raidiam, Ozone API, Open Banking Limited, Tink, QUALCO UK and UK Payments Initiative, alongside emerging businesses and initiatives from across the international Open Banking and Open Finance community.

The individual awards also recognise leaders and advocates from organisations including the Bank for International Settlements, Deutsche Bank, Nordea, Virgin Media O2, HSBC, Ozone API, FDATA and Open Finance Network of Canada.

The shortlisted entries will now move to the judging stage, where they will be assessed by independent panels of industry experts before the winners are decided.

The winners of the Open Banking Expo Awards 2026 will be announced at an Awards ceremony in London on 13 October.

You can view the shortlist here: https://www.openbankingexpo.com/awards/shortlist-2026/