Opening the door to better data sharing
Trustees will no longer have to share sensitive passwords to banks or other institutions with financial advisers or accountants as open banking rolls out, according to the managing director of a data service.
Speaking on the latest SMSF Adventures podcast by SuperConcepts, Grant Augustin – founder and managing director of SISS Data Services – said the innovation of open banking does away with the sharing of passwords and with the new consent process, data can be accessed and shared without the need for mountains of paperwork and delays.
“Open banking allows accountants and advisers to go into a pool once the consent process has been finalised so it just makes the whole environment a lot more safe and secure,” he said.
“You [trustee] can actually see where you have shared your data and you’re in full control as a trustee because you can cancel that consent. But more importantly, you can see at any point in time where your data has been shared and with whom.”
Mr Augustin said open banking is essentially about consumers or self-managed super fund trustees being able to share their bank data safely and securely in order to get better services and advice.
“Open banking is part of a wider regime called the consumer data right or CDR and it’s an economy-wide data sharing initiative by the government and the ACCC and ultimately it’s about consumers being able to safely and securely share their data with advisers in order to get better advice and services,” he said.
“Open banking allows customers to access and share their data from every bank, and from every account.
“We know it’s difficult to get historical data when you’re onboarding a client, but open banking allows you dot do that, even in the case when a trustee throughout the year may open a new account, being able to get that historical data for that new account with open banking makes it a lot easier.
“From an accessibility point of view, historical data and being able to access accounts from every account is a plus.”
Mr Augustin said the consent process involved in open banking is online and instant, and once trustees have gone through it, they have access to their data and can decide with whom to share it.
Damian Wright, executive manager, supplier integration at SuperConcepts said in practical terms, open banking will also open up opportunities for SMSF clients to access more loans and term deposits, as well as things that have otherwise traditionally been not available to them.
“The other advantage is for the matching and reconciliation of data provided not just for government reporting, but also for things like pensions and trading and corporate actions, where that data matching benefit will really help out the SMSF administrators and therefore their trustees,” he said.
