SuperConcepts to adopt open banking services in new year
SMSF service provider SuperConcepts has announced it will receive ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification in the new year, enabling it to provide open banking services to its SMSF clients and streamline the audit process.
SuperConcepts has passed the design phase of the ISO 27001 certification for the security of its systems and operations as well as the Service Organisation Control (SOC) 2 certification.
According to SuperConcepts, this means future audits will no longer require access to bank statements and financial records. Both security measures will be assessed at the operational level in 2021 and will be in place by 30 June.
SuperConcepts chief information officer Grant Christensen said open banking, which enables third-party financial service providers to have access to consumer banking, transaction and other financial data from approved deposit-taking institutions, is expected to shake up the financial services landscape.
“The key industries that will be able to make the most of open banking are those that offer any form of financial advice, as well as compliance and administration service providers like SuperConcepts,” Mr Christensen said.
SuperConcepts noted that one of the main challenges with any form of financial advice is gathering all the paperwork, data and transactions together so it can be analysed, reviewed and solutions can be put together and offered to the client.
“As open banking in Australia matures, it has the potential to completely streamline this and take significant time out of the process. Clients that opt into open banking will essentially open their books up for an application programming interface (API) to communicate with the SMSF service provider, so all the information is instantly collated and ready to be analysed,” it explained.
“Not only will it speed up the process, but this complete transparency also means that the advice given will be the most accurate and personalised totally to the individual based on their actual banking history and data.”
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
