Open finance is an extension of open banking, which allows consumers to share their financial data with third-party providers.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that, ahead of the launch of its open finance roadmap and strategy, it has developed two TechSprints for SME lending and mortgages.
This will allow firms, industry and policymakers to leverage data sharing to improve the mortgage sector and support a future regulatory framework for open finance. The TechSprints will allow stakeholders to develop and test solutions.
Firms can register for the TechSprints from 2 November, and the programmes will run between 17 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.
This follows the Open Finance Sprint the FCA ran in March, which considered ideas for how open finance could benefit consumers.
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The FCA is welcoming firms to work on two problem statements as part of the mortgage TechSprint.
The first relates to using open finance to streamline the mortgage and remortgage process, to enable simplified and personalised options and deliver better outcomes for borrowers.
It will look at smart prompts ahead of introductory rates or fixed-term expiry, seamless affordability and eligibility checks, such as saving habits, evidence of consistent rent payments, and real-time product comparison.
It will also examine embedding switching journeys into apps.
The second problem statement focuses on encouraging consumers to make overpayments, considering the barriers of siloed lender data, a lack of consumer understanding, poor integration with budgeting tools and low engagement.
The aim will be to give consumers a better understanding of their financial situation so they can decide whether to make mortgage overpayments.
It will focus on access to real-time data, personalised nudges and embedded journeys within financial apps.
The FCA said: “Open banking has laid important groundwork to make everyday banking and payments more diverse and accessible. Open finance has the potential to extend this to more financial services products and services.”
This follows on from the regulator’s letter to the Prime Minister in January, showing its commitment to accelerating digital innovation in financial services.
