“For many years, banks told us how to deal with them. They said, ‘if you’re going to deal with our bank, you’re going to go to our brunch. You’re going to ring our telephone number. You’re going to use our digital channel and you’re gonna use our paperwork.’ “

Those words are from Simon Lyons. He’s the Head of Ecosystem Engagement at the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), and he recently sat down with us to talk about the revolution occurring right now in banking. 

Banking information has traditionally stayed off-limits. Small businesses and digital services have been unable to integrate with accounts in order to provide their customers with improved experiences. But organisations like OBIE are creating new expectations for banks to share data and connect with these services.

Over in the UK, OBIE is producing guidelines and setting software standards in the industry. It’s a road to standardised connections between banks and service providers, which will create faster transactions, easier data-access, and more freedom for both consumers and SMEs.

Small businesses have always dealt with complicated processes around banking, and that’s about to change with open banking.

But is there anyone to blame for the previously lockedbanking system that made life so difficult for SMEs?SMEs? Simon doesn’t think so. 

The cost of implementing changes at large banks has been prohibitively expensive. So while OBIE’s guidelines will encourage them, it will also create opportunities for small, agile fintechs to fill the gaps for SMEs and consumers.

“Open banking is for people who may well get a good banking service. So they can interface with that bank in the way they want. That’s really, really key.” – Simon Lyons

If you want to hear more of Simon’s point of view on open banking, head over to the full  Banking on Air episode. You can listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify or here:

Full transcript of the episode is available here.

Here’s a rundown of the episode:

• 01:25 Simon’s history and current job
• 06:20 What was open banking meant when it launched
• 12:30 Features and benefits of open banking
• 19:20 Open banking and small businesses
• 28:20 Future of open banking

Simon leads the Ecosystem Engagement function at the OBIE. This role allows him to assist the market to adopt Open Banking in practical and realistic methods. 25 years within banking and specializing in digital and agency banking has been a benefit when identifying solid use cases for Open Banking.

‘Banking on Air’ is the official Vacuumlabs podcast covering the challenges, opportunities, perspectives and opinions that matter to our community. The podcastlooks under the hood of the changing face of tech: the acceleration of all things digital, the impact of regulation (and disruption), the need for collaboration – and the spectrum of businesses competing to be fintech and financial service suppliers around the world.

This podcast is brought to you by Vacuumlabs.We’re sharing our experience and expertise in creating digital solutions for professionals, community banks, and fintechs. We believe that the future of digital transformation in financial services lies in communities.

We invite you to join us and our guests over the weeks and months to come.