Financial Data Access (FIDA)

Financial Data Access (FIDA) as catalyst for Open Finance

As of June 2023, the European Commission's Digital Finance Strategy has taken a significant step forward. The Financial Data Access (FIDA) legislation, a key component of this strategy, was announced with the goal of transforming the way financial data is accessed across the industry upon consent of the customer. The essence of this upcoming regulation is that it enforces Financial Institutions to share customer data on financial products (such as loans, mortgages, savings, investments, insurance and pension products) with third parties who want to use this data in their services. These third parties can be other Financial Institutions or Financial Information Service Providers (FISPs), who need to obtain a license. The financial data can only be shared when the customer, as the data owner, gives its consent to do so. The scope of FIDA includes financial data about consumers but also businesses. This initiative builds on the progress made by Payment Service Directive 2 (PSD2), which catalyzed the Open Banking movement, and is further reinforced by PSD3 and the Payment Service Regulation (PSR), strengthening the framework. FIDA is set to expedite the shift towards Open Finance, facilitating increased sharing of financial data beyond payment information.

FIDA is set to expedite the shift towards Open Finance, facilitating increased sharing of financial data beyond payment information.

With FIDA, the European Commission is acting on the third priority of Digital Finance Strategy. Which is promoting data-driven innovation in financial services by establishing a common financial data space. Specifically, the Commission aims to promote business-to-business data sharing in the EU financial sector and beyond. A balanced regulatory framework is to be established which includes:

The possibility for customers to share their data with data users
This empowers customers giving them full control of their financial data in a secure and meaningful way.
The obligation for data holders to make this data available to data users
This will create equal opportunities between direct competitors, downstream providers in the same sector, SMEs and start-ups.
Complete control by customers over who accesses their data and for what purpose
This enables customers to grant, manage, and withdraw consent for data sharing. Creating transparency and strengthening customer trust.
Standardization of customer data and the required technical interfaces for data sharing
This will improve the data quality shared between data users and data holders and assurance that data holders are complying with regulatory requirements to the highest possible degree.

This pivotal regulation marks a cornerstone in the EU's strategy towards Open Finance, aiming to foster innovation and digital transformation within the financial services sector. PwC can help offer initial guidance through the complexities of compliance with this new regulation. The compliance challenge for Financial Institutions is that there will be significant impact on the customer experience, processes, data, technology and security. There will be strategic impact as well, as it shakes up the market with new possibilities for all players to include data of financial products in their customer experience as a data user (if the customer gives consent). PwC can help your organization leverage the potential of Open Finance to drive business growth and innovation through the new possibilities that FIDA offers

How PwC can help

With the regulation likely to come into effect by 2027, PwC can help with a high-level assessment on the readiness regarding FIDA compliancy. Beyond compliance, PwC can help with leveraging FIDA to create a strategic advantage for financial institutions and support in unlocking new business potential and the creation of innovative financial products & services. We have a team of experienced specialists in Business, Data, Technology, Product, Operations and Regulatory Compliance. With our combined knowledge, experience and international network we can help you guide with each step in the preparation for FIDA.

Kick-off your FIDA journey

Are you interested in a high-level assessment indicating the impact of FIDA on your organization? Would you like to know more about what strategic business opportunities FIDA enables, and which threats it creates across your business lines, including partnerships? Contact us for a Discovery & Readiness Scan.