Open minds to Open Banking

Low levels of understanding and engagement

We asked 4,000 consumers in four Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland) what they know about Open Banking, how they feel about the new choices that it presents, and, as a result, what they want from their own banks.

Across countries, age groups and other segments the answer was almost unanimous: consumers don't know much about Open Banking, and are unsure about what they do know.

Getting started in Open Banking

Overall, consumers express most interest toward “basic” services related to payment in online store and other payments related use cases. People are also more positive towards simple recommendations on their finances, such as those related to foreign exchange transactions and rates.

Consumers also see value in the basic PSD2-related services (like seeing their bank account balances or paying directly from a bank account within an online store). Overall, 40 percent of Nordic consumers think these services can be useful when shopping online.

Money management features facilitated by PSD2 (including the ability to aggregate bank account information from several banks, or the ability to see transaction history and account balances while paying in online stores) are more interesting to the younger population and to households with lower incomes. Thus, banks can create opportunities by offering financial management services and by increasing visibility into household finances for these consumers.

Let them know you are coming

Although Open Banking awareness is low, banks’ well-known local brands and experience with handling monetary transactions make it easier for them to gain consumers’ trust.

But, Nordic banks have been slow in educating customers about the value proposition and benefits of PSD2 and Open Banking. To realize a return on their investments in PSD2 and Open Banking initiatives, banks will need to focus on increasing the awareness of consumers who will benefit from these changes.

Steady rise of Open Banking

Based on the survey, we expect a slow uptake initially in late 2019 of Nordics to use PSD2-related services and then a steady increase in services which are easy to understand, provide tangible benefits and are relevant to consumers – such as paying in an online store or managing personal finances.

However, over time, more and more services will appear on the market, until Open Banking is suddenly part of everyday life for Nordic consumers. Banks that approach PSD2 as an opportunity for profitable growth would be able to retain and see gains in their consumer base over the long run.