The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out a roadmap for open data that will give consumers greater control over financial deals, and says it will examine how open finance can help consumers manage and improve access to mortgages.
Open finance will offer people and businesses the potential to share their financial data securely with a range of financial services providers, helping them access mortgages, investments, savings and pensions, the FCA said.
“This will give financial services firms a more complete picture of consumers’ and businesses’ finances, enabling more personalised and inclusive services, alongside more competitive pricing and stronger fraud protection.”
To progress plans as quickly as possible, the FCA will engage with industry, consumer groups and fellow regulators in 2026 to develop a range of practical open finance use cases through its Smart Data Accelerator and PRISM (Prioritisation and Real-world Insights Selection Matrix) Taskforce.
The FCA will work with HM Treasury on options for a regulatory framework for open finance by the end of 2027. Firms will be supported to introduce open finance products sooner where they are already able to access data and appropriate permissions are in place. A consultation on the proposals will be launched before the end of this year.
The move has been welcomed by the Open Data Property Association (OPDA), which is actively collaborating with the FCA on smart data schemes. Maria Harris, chair of OPDA, called the roadmap “an important and welcome step forward”.
“Property and finance are two sides of the same coin, and for the home buying process to truly improve, the data that underpins both must be compatible, consistent, and connected,” she said “We are actively collaborating with the FCA, Open Banking Ltd and the wider Smart Data Council to ensure our smart data schemes can operate together.
“We’re particularly pleased to see a commitment to a policy and technical sprint this year. Creating a framework that allows property, mortgage, and financial data to flow securely and seamlessly between systems is essential if we want faster transactions, fewer fall throughs, and greater transparency. OPDA is already contributing to this work through the FCA’s PRISM taskforce, helping to assess the impact of the priority use cases and ensure the foundations are right.
“Open finance has the potential to transform the homebuying journey – from faster mortgage approvals to more accurate affordability and smoother completions. But that can only happen if the underlying data is standardised, accessible, and trusted. This roadmap signals real momentum, and we’re pleased to be working with industry and regulators to deliver a better home buying and selling process, helping to drive economic growth and a more sustainable property market.”
Damien Burke is head of regulatory practice at independent banking and credit advisory consultancy Broadstone. He agrees open finance has transformative potential and believes it could result in a more inclusive mortgage lending market.
“By enabling lenders to access a more complete, real-time view of a borrower’s financial position – including income patterns, spending behaviour and existing liabilities – affordability assessments can become far more accurate,” he said.
“This should help move the market away from blunt, one-size-fits-all criteria towards more tailored lending decisions that reflect how people actually earn and manage money today, particularly those with non-traditional or variable incomes.
“For consumers, this could translate into more realistic borrowing limits and better-matched products, reducing the risk of both overextension and unnecessary rejection. It also creates an opportunity for lenders to design more flexible solutions – whether that’s adjusting repayment structures, offering Variable Recurring Payments, offering more responsive payment stress testing or identifying earlier interventions for those at risk of financial strain.
“The success of open finance in the mortgage market will depend on how effectively lenders embed these insights into underwriting processes while maintaining robust risk controls. If implemented well, it could support a more inclusive lending environment that balances innovation with responsible affordability.”
Research by Open Banking Limited and EY suggests that the economic impact of open banking and open finance combined could reach £7.4 billion per year in the next five years.
