Open Banking & Open Finance: Global Trends for 2025 - Raidiam

Jamie Leach, Raidiam’s Open Data Strategist, shares her thoughts on how different countries are adopting Open Banking and Open Finance, sharing insights into the trends shaping 2025.

With 2025 well underway, the opportunities and challenges of Open Banking and Open Finance have never been more apparent. In 2024, I was fortunate to travel to Vietnam, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, and back home to Australia, exploring how each place approaches financial innovation. Each destination offers valuable lessons and perspectives as we look to the trends that will define the future:

• Vietnam: A youthful, tech-savvy population driving enthusiasm for fintech innovation.
• Hong Kong:  Demonstrated its strength as a financial hub, with a clear regulatory focus on digital transformation.
• Singapore: Impressed with its collaborative approach, blending regulatory guidance with market innovation to drive advancements in wealth management and payments.
• New Zealand: A strong emphasis on trust and inclusivity, with stakeholders exploring opportunities for greater financial inclusion and consumer safety.
• The UK: Showcased a mature Open Banking ecosystem yet debates on governance and long-term funding revealed ongoing challenges.
• Australia: The Consumer Data Right (CDR) has stalled, with challenges in engaging consumers and smaller players, and hurdles in introducing payments and Action Initiation into a rule-based system.

In recent years, Open Banking and Open Finance have redefined the financial services industry, ushering in an era of innovation, inclusion, and customer empowerment. By enabling real-time, secure access to financial data as an alternative to Direct Feeds and Screen Scraping, and fostering collaboration between traditional financial institutions and third-party providers (often fintechs of all sizes, start-ups, corporations and, in some cases, Unicorns), these frameworks are driving a new wave of digital transformation worldwide.

However, the journey of Open Banking and Open Finance is far from uniform. Each region has adopted its own approach, shaped by local regulatory priorities, market dynamics, and consumer needs. From the legislated frameworks in Australia and Brazil to the market-driven innovation in the United States and South-East Asia, the global landscape offers a fascinating tapestry of progress, challenges, and opportunities.

The Rise of Open Banking and Open Finance

At its core, Open Banking allows consumers to securely share their transactional data with third parties, unlocking tailored, fit-for-purpose financial products and services. Open Finance takes this concept further, extending data-sharing to other financial services, such as insurance, pensions, and investments. The goal is clear: to create a more competitive, transparent, and customer-centric financial ecosystem whilst underpinning innovation through open access to financial data. Financial inclusion is a particular goal.

The benefits are clear:

• For consumers: Personalised tools, easier financial management, and access to more accurately priced lending based on more accurate data.
• For businesses: Operational efficiency and access to underserved markets.
• For the economy: A boost to innovation and growth, while underserved markets can be brought into the fold.

Yet, these benefits come with challenges — the cost of compliance, building consumer trust, and driving adoption are just a few hurdles faced by regions as they navigate this new frontier.

Dr. Scott Farrell’s vision for a consumer-consented data-sharing economy highlights the potential of Open Finance. To date, this vision largely remains unrealised due to regulatory fragmentation, technological inertia, and resistance from incumbents who wish to maintain exclusive benefits from their data silos. Low consumer trust and awareness compound these challenges, emphasising the need for collaborative governance and public education.

Regional Trends and Approaches to Open Banking and Open Finance

While the core principles of Open Banking and Open Finance are universal, the reality of implementation varies significantly across regions:

• Australia: The Consumer Data Right (CDR) ensures a legislated, multi-sectoral approach with a vision but no discernible expansionary roadmap nor notable progress for some time.

• Europe: All member states have adopted PSD2 into their own local laws, however the lack of consistent specifications means that the technical implementation of the standards differs – and this is now partly being addressed in PSD3.

• Brazil: A trailblazer with rapid adoption of Open Finance, driven by centralised regulation and payment initiatives like Pix.

• United Kingdom: Enacted by regulation to drive greater competition and choice and with common technical standards, the UK is strong in SME innovation and payment initiation adoption, benefitting from the opportunity to combine open banking data insight with payments, though central governance and funding remain challenges.

• Singapore and Hong Kong: Regulator-led frameworks emphasise market collaboration in payments and wealth management. Common data sharing spaces such as SGFinDex, and the business oriented SGTraDex also emphasise the importance of interoperable data sharing to consumers and the economy.

• United States and Canada: Market-driven ecosystems highlight private innovation amid the absence of unified regulations. Canada has announced the final parts of their legislative framework. And with the finalisation of the Personal Financial Data Rights Rule (aka Section 1033), all eyes are on Washington as we await what may become of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Challenges in the Global Journey

Despite its potential, Open Banking and Open Finance face significant obstacles. These include:

• Regulatory Fragmentation: Europe’s PSD2 demonstrates the difficulty of implementing regulations consistently across jurisdictions.

• Financial Literacy: South-East Asia’s efforts to improve financial inclusivity are hampered by financial literacy rather than advances in technical enablers – according to the UN Capital Development Fund, 50% of the population struggle with this. Innovation for financial inclusivity is, in fact, spurred by the straight-to-mobile environment and migrant needs in the region.

• Consumer Trust and Awareness: Globally, consumers remain hesitant about data-sharing despite its benefits.

Even in advanced markets like the UK and Australia, smaller players face high compliance costs, and a lack of public engagement is still a barrier to adoption.

Lessons from Around the World

From my travels, several recurring themes stand out:

• Collaboration: Partnerships between governments, financial institutions, and fintechs drive innovation.
• Consumer Trust: Transparency and robust security measures are essential for ecosystem success.
• Flexibility: Adapting to local contexts while fostering innovation ensures long-term sustainability.
• Open Data Economy Vision: Expanding frameworks beyond financial data to include health, retail, and other sectors is the next frontier.

A Shared Global Vision for Open Banking and Open Finance

While each region tailors Open Banking and Open Finance to its unique landscape, the ultimate goal remains the same: empowering consumers, fostering competition, and building inclusive financial ecosystems. The journey toward a true Open Data Economy will require harmonised regulations, interoperable standards, and robust public-private collaboration.

By transcending borders and integrating data across industries, we can unlock the transformative power of data, enabling consumers to fully benefit from a globalised and inclusive digital ecosystem. Whether through regulatory mandates or market-driven innovation, the journey is just beginning. At Raidiam, we’re proud to contribute to the frameworks and tools driving this transformation.

Want to stay ahead of the latest Open Banking and Open Finance trends? Discover how we deliver secure and trusted data sharing ecosystems. Get in touch with us today!