The UK's open finance opportunity is taking shape

The UK has set out its ambitions for the next chapter of open finance.

In April 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a roadmap outlining how it intends to support the development of open finance through 2030. Building on the foundations of open banking, the plan identifies opportunities to extend financial data sharing into areas including mortgages, lending, savings, investments and pensions.

It's an important signal for the market. But perhaps the more interesting question is what businesses can already build with better access to financial data.

Because the opportunity for open finance isn't dependent on a future framework. It's driven by something much more immediate: the demand for better financial services.

What the FCA's roadmap tells us

The FCA's roadmap outlines three phases for developing open finance in the UK:

• 2026: Prioritise and test. Identify high-impact use cases, initially focusing on SME lending and mortgages, and explore practical solutions with industry participants.
• 2027: Design and coordinate. Develop options for a longer-term framework and identify the infrastructure and standards needed to support wider adoption.
• 2028–2030: Scale. Support the development and launch of sustainable open finance schemes.

The roadmap recognises the potential of financial data sharing to improve access to services, increase competition and create more personalised customer experiences.

Importantly, the FCA is also exploring the role of industry-led solutions and commercial incentives in making open finance sustainable.

That reflects a broader reality: businesses need a compelling reason to invest in financial data sharing, and consumers need to see a clear benefit from using it.

Open banking was only the beginning

The UK has already demonstrated the potential of connected financial services through open banking.

According to the FCA, approximately 17 million people in the UK now use open banking services, representing nearly one in three adults.

But bank account information is only one part of a person's financial life.

Savings, investments, pensions, insurance and borrowing are often spread across multiple providers, each holding a different piece of the customer's financial picture.

This fragmentation creates challenges for consumers trying to understand their finances and for businesses looking to deliver relevant products and services.

Open finance extends the possibilities of data sharing beyond everyday banking, making it possible to create a more complete understanding of an individual's financial position.

For financial institutions, fintechs and AI companies, that opens the door to a much wider range of applications.

Where the commercial opportunities are emerging

The most compelling open finance use cases solve problems that customers and businesses already face.

More personalised financial services

Access to information across multiple providers allows financial institutions to understand more of a customer's financial situation and deliver services that reflect their actual needs.

Simpler investment and pension journeys

Bringing together information about existing holdings can help reduce manual data collection, simplify investment transfers and make pension consolidation more accessible.

Better lending decisions

A broader understanding of a customer's financial circumstances can support more informed assessments, reduce administrative friction and create more tailored lending experiences.

AI-powered financial experiences

As AI becomes increasingly capable of helping people understand and manage their finances, access to accurate financial information becomes essential.

An AI assistant might be able to explain how pensions work. But to help someone understand their actual retirement savings, it needs access to information about their existing pension holdings.

The same principle applies to investments, insurance and other financial products.

Without financial context, even sophisticated AI applications are limited in what they can deliver.

The infrastructure challenge

While the opportunities are clear, accessing financial information across providers remains technically complex.

Financial institutions operate different systems, organise information in different formats and have varying technical requirements.

For businesses developing new financial services, building and maintaining individual integrations can become a significant undertaking.

And simply accessing data is not enough. It needs to be consistent, understandable and useful.

This is where financial data infrastructure becomes essential.

With consented, reliable and structured financial data, businesses can build services around a more complete understanding of their customers without having to manage every underlying connection themselves.

For AI developers in particular, this creates an important foundation for building applications that can work with real financial information rather than incomplete or manually supplied data.

The opportunity isn't waiting for 2030

The FCA's roadmap provides a useful direction for the UK's open finance ecosystem. But businesses don't need to wait until 2030 to explore the opportunities.

Customer expectations are already changing. Financial institutions are looking for ways to improve efficiency, strengthen relationships and develop more personalised services. And AI is accelerating demand for access to financial context.

These market dynamics are creating opportunities for businesses that can put financial data to work today.

At Anessa, we're already supporting the development of connected financial services across Europe, and our financial data infrastructure is now available in the UK.

Through a single API, we enable businesses to access financial information across investments, pensions, savings, insurance, loans and bank accounts, subject to provider and market coverage.

Our focus is on making financial data accessible and useful, so financial institutions, fintechs and AI companies can concentrate on building better products and experiences.

The UK's open finance future is taking shape. The commercial opportunity is already here.

Explore how Anessa can help you build financial services powered by better data.