Finastra research points to open finance progress

85% of professionals at financial institutions agree: open finance is already making the financial services industry more collaborative and is having a positive impact

Finastra today revealed a sneak peek at its annual State of the Nation Financial Services research. Results point to the significant progress the industry has made around open finance and collaboration, despite the challenging market conditions of the last few years.

The research takes in views from 758 professionals at financial institutions and banks across France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, the UK and the US, and finds:

• 85% of professionals agree that open finance is already making the industry more collaborative and is having a positive impact
• 8 in 10 consider the sector open to collaboration, with 87% recognizing this as an improvement compared to five years ago

“These compelling figures speak to a marked industry shift towards ‘open’ and reflect our journey, creating ways to innovate at scale and pace, and accelerate innovation through collaboration,” said Simon Paris, CEO at Finastra. “In 2018 we declared that the future of finance is open. And we weren’t just talking about Open Banking, but true open finance – disrupting and reshaping the foundation of financial services. That future is now, and we can simply say: finance is open.”

In the last few years, the industry has seen the unbundling of banking, with institutions offering products procured outside of their organization, a move to contextual and conscious banking services which meet the customer at the point of need, and a greater desire from many companies to do well by doing good. All of these form part of the shift to open.

The encouraging research findings coincide with the launch of season two on Finastra Universe TV – a new series of on-demand digital thought leadership videos exploring this world of open finance. Tune in to the free-to-access content, designed to help financial institutions better compete, with insights from Finastra experts, industry analysts and customers that are shaping the world of finance. Explore the latest trends in lending, payments, universal banking (digital, retail and commercial banking), treasury and capital markets, and Finastra’s broader commitments, including:

Open technology: Collaborating to innovate

An open platform and open and collaborative ecosystem are enablers for fairer and more accessible banking services:

• Finastra’s Banking as a Service (BaaS) strategy is focused on orchestrating a financial ecosystem that creates economic growth via greater accessibility to affordable financial services. This is underpinned by FusionFabric.cloud – an open platform for innovation and collaboration. The platform is the key orchestrator in driving innovation to Finastra customers, whether they are banks, financial institutions or other fintechs. Since its launch, FusionFabric.cloud has opened up over 300 APIs and datasets, enabling the launch of over 200 fintech applications, now consumed by over 700 customers.

Open communities: Creating more equitable access to banking

Sustainable environmental and social value creation in financial services has never been more important. Technology allows for greater access, transparency and equality at scale – an opportunity to contribute to a better world:

• Providing critical capital to the SME sector with ICC TradeComm – a trade funding marketplace matching supply and demand, ultimately aiming to decrease the global trade finance gap.
• Delivering affordable access to formal financial services to 100 million ‘unbanked’ members of credit unions and Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) by 2030 through collaboration with our customers in the developing world. Finastra has also invested in supporting financial literacy programs for schoolchildren, students and business owners as far afield as the southern US and east Africa.

Open culture: Building a path for success through diversity, equity and inclusion 

Breaking through barriers, building skills and creating a workplace where people feel they belong contributes to Finastra’s ‘open by default’ DE&I mantra:

2030 is the year Finastra expects to achieve 50:50 gender equality across its operations. Finastra has reached its ambition at the executive leadership level and is continuing the journey to embrace the full spectrum of diversity while creating an open culture where everyone can thrive.

Access Finastra Universe TV here.

Finastra’s 2022 ESG report is available here.

Notes to editors:

• 758 professionals (at managerial level) at financial institutions and banks across France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, the UK and the US, are included in the upcoming 2022 research report. These financial institutions represent a gross total of just over USD$28 billion in turnover over the last 12 months, employ approximately 1.9m staff and have approximately 147 million client/customer/member relationships.
• Research was conducted by Savanta via an online panel (September 2022).

About Finastra

Finastra is a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and launched the leading open platform for innovation, FusionFabric.cloud, in 2017. It serves institutions of all sizes, providing award-winning solutions and services across Lending, Payments, Treasury & Capital Markets and Universal Banking (digital, retail and commercial banking) for banks to support direct banking relationships and grow through indirect channels, such as embedded finance and Banking as a Service. Its pioneering approach and commitment to open finance and collaboration is why it is trusted by ~8,600 institutions, including 90 of the world’s top 100 banks. For more information, visit finastra.com.