UK FCA announces partnership to accelerate delivery of open finance in UK

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a major new partnership and the launch of two TechSprints aimed at accelerating the delivery of open finance in the UK. The announcement follows the FCA's January letter to the Prime Minister which reaffirmed the FCA's commitment to promote digital innovation, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending. To support this vision, the FCA commissioned KPMG and Europe Economics to carry out work to assess the potential benefits of open banking and open finance for consumers and the financial services sector.

As part of its broader innovation strategy, the FCA confirms that its recently launched Smart Data Accelerator, an extension of the FCA's sandbox, will enable the testing of real uses of open finance in practice. The FCA is also collaborating with Raidiam to use its testing environment, which will provide Smart Data Sprint participants with access to a stable environment that mirrors real-world conditions. Following the FCA's Open Finance Sprint held in March, and the publication of the FCA's outcomes report in July, the two upcoming TechSprints will take place between 17 November and 12 February 2026, with separate focuses on mortgages and finance for SMEs. The sprints are now open for registration until 2 November. The FCA will set out a roadmap for open finance by March 2026.

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