The Consumer Data Right
The Consumer Data Right (CDR) puts consumers in control of their data. By removing data silos from banks, telcos and energy providers, the CDR promotes innovation and competition in the Australian economy.
What is the Consumer Data Right (CDR)?
The Consumer Data Right is an economy-wide, government-regulated regime that gives consumers the right to share their data with service providers they choose.
On 1 July 2020, the CDR launched with banking as its first sector (commonly known as Open Banking). Consumers now have the right to share their banking data with accredited businesses, to get a better deal on their finances. Frollo was the first fintech to use Open Banking, showing users all of their finances in one app.
After a two-year rollout, more than 100 banks are now sharing data for over 30 financial products. And many more businesses have started using Open Banking; to deliver a more personalised experience for their customer, or streamline processes to save time and money.
Intermediaries like Frollo make it easy for companies to access and use CDR data, using a CDR Gateway and modules for specific use cases like lending and financial well-being. Examples of businesses that use Frollo’s platform are Beyond Bank, Finsure and P&N Bank.
Open Banking in action
Beyond Bank+
Beyond Bank drives engagement and retention by providing customers with a complete view of their finances and the tools to manage their money in the Beyond Bank+ app
Finsure
Australia’s leading mortgage broker group streamlines the application process for customers and brokers by using CDR data as its single source of truth.
Mymo by P&N Bank
P&N Bank financially empowers its customers by providing them with a complete overview of their finances, smart insights and budgeting tools in the Mymo by P&N Bank app.
Future sectors in the Consumer Data Right
With the banking roll-out complete, Treasury is developing new rules to empower customers to use their data in new ways. And the CDR will expand to include the broader finance industry, such as non-bank lending, insurance, superannuation and payments data.
The continuing CDR rollout presents enormous opportunities for innovation. Both within sectors and across industries where shared data rights can combine to provide real value for the consumer.
Action Initiation
The most anticipated expansion of the Consumer Data Right isn’t a new sector but rather a new ‘feature’ of the regime: Action Initiation.Â
Although Action Initiation is often called ‘Open Banking payments’, it’s much more than that. Action Initiation will create a new way for consumers to instruct a business to act on their behalf (with their consent). For example, they can ask a business to make a payment, open or close an account, switch providers or update their details across providers.
The potential of use cases that Action Initiation can enable is endless. Still, we’ve listed a few exciting ones below:
Multi-banking
Manage all your money in one app, regardless of which banks you are with. Make payments, transfer money between accounts, update details or block your card.
Compare and switch
Financial comparison websites can help you find a better savings account and open it for you.
Self-driving finance
Your personal financial management app manages your finances for you. It automatically moves money from one account to the other based on your instructions; to make sure you can cover upcoming bills, or maximise the interest earnings on your savings account.
Automated investing
Every purchase you make is automatically rounded up to the nearest dollar and transferred to your investment account.
Open Finance
With more than 90% coverage of all Australian consumer deposits, Open Banking is off to a good start. Yet, a consumer’s financial information isn’t limited to banking, meaning some gaps still need to be filled.
Enter Open Finance.
Through Open Finance, the broader financial sector will be brought into the CDR in a phased roll-out. This includes non-bank lending, merchant acquiring services and critical datasets in the general insurance and superannuation sectors.
Open Energy
After Open Banking, the energy sector is the next cab off the rank, marking the next major milestone for CDR. Open Energy enables consumers to share data from their existing energy provider with a new provider or comparison website for an accurate quote. For example, they can share data about their energy usage, account and plan.
This will help consumers make more informed decisions when looking for better, more tailored deals, helping them save on their energy bills.
Combining energy and banking data will allow consumers to track spending, manage their household budget, find ways to reduce unnecessary energy usage and estimate future energy bills.
And the process has begun, although it’s early days.
In October 2022, the first energy providers started sharing product data. The following month, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), AGL, Origin Energy and Energy Australia started sharing customer data.
CDR and Open Banking resources
Want to learn more and stay up to date about the Consumer Data Right and Open Banking? The websites and reports below should get you started.
Interested in how you can use CDR data to streamline and personalise your products and services? Get in touch!
Open Banking
The state of Open Banking – A website dedicated to providing a comprehensive overview of CDR in the banking sector, including interviews and case studies
API performance – Check the speed and reliability of Open Banking connections by bank
The consumer perspective – This research provides insight into consumer preferences about Open Banking, use cases, privacy and security
About Frollo
Frollo is a purpose-driven FinTech on a quest to help people feel good about money.
We help businesses use Open Banking to deliver better customer outcomes. From improving their financial position and getting a better deal on their finances, to a more streamlined, personalised experience.
Our free budgeting app helps consumers manage their money and improve their finances.
Collect
Connect to 90+ banks with an out of the box, customisable consent flow, data sharing dashboard and advanced user management portal.
Enrich
Categorise transactions, detect bills, classify merchants and verify income with market leading accuracy.
Experience
Plug & Play access to Open banking powered solutions for lending, personal finance management and customer onboarding.
Learn more about the Financial Passport and Money Management platform
