By Eugene Danilkis, CEO at Mambu

It’s easy to focus on the impressive growth of open banking. Industry players are being challenged, digital innovation is powering the banking landscape, and consumer behaviours are driving the development of new products and services. However, customers remain unconvinced.

The full potential of open banking is yet to be realised due to a communication gap between banks and their customers. Customers are relying on banks for the tools to understand what this new technology means for them. but aren’t getting the information they need.

So why are banks falling short?

Customer confusion

Open banking was introduced to the UK in 2018, but consumers are still mired in confusion as to what it means and how it helps them. According to Mambu’s global open banking survey, 61% of consumers say they’ve never used open banking, despite more than 8 in 10 using one or more mobile banking apps.

This is a problem for banks and consumers alike. Lack of understanding around the technology is hindering its adoption, despite this being in the best interests of both. By enabling the secure sharing of financial information, open banking creates an improved customer experience. Not only does this minimise friction and make online payments faster and easier, but allows for personalised services and greater automation, enabling customers to take advantage of tools like budgeting apps.

For banks, open banking is an opportunity to build innovative new products that will improve the customer journey, helping them retain accounts and acquire new ones. By collaborating with third parties, banks can hyper-target customers and build services that address specific user needs, increasing customer satisfaction and in turn brand loyalty.

It’s true there’s been a recent spike in open banking users. According to Juniper Research global, open banking users rose from 18 million in 2018 to 40 million in 2021. But this can be traced to the necessities of a pandemic rather than any sudden clarity in communications.

Smart banking education

Mambu’s research shows more than half of consumers (52%) have never heard of open banking. COVID-19 may have increased the uptake of the technology, but it hasn’t increased understanding among users.

So, what can banks do to encourage consumers to embrace open banking?

Fundamentally, they must better educate their customers in terms they understand. This means talking to them like human beings, using clear and transparent language to simply explain the personal benefits open banking brings and why it’s really just smart banking.

The understanding gap between technology and terminology shows that consumer demand is there, but better communication is needed. Making sure consumers truly understand the tools they’re using, the control they now have over their finances and how open banking improves the customer experience is vital to dispersing the current fog of confusion. It’s the benefits of this technology that banks need to hone in on: customers ultimately care about what open banking can do for them and how it’s going to make their lives easier.

Centering the customer and their needs in this way will allow banks to fully realise open banking’s potential. The technology has already given them the opportunity to develop valuable services for customers that help build brand loyalty. But the industry has failed to put the customer at the heart of their communications and processes, and show them how much better banking can be.

Security concerns

Key to reversing this trend is addressing consumer concerns around data privacy and financial safety. Yes, banks need to prioritise simplicity and clarity in messaging, but this isn’t an excuse to shy away from important conversations. Just because there’s an understanding gap around open banking doesn’t mean consumers aren’t switched on about tech and financial issues.

Mambu’s survey found nearly three in five customers have concerns about privacy and security in relation to open banking. So, it’s vital that banks provide reassurance and relevant information about data sharing from the outset if they’re to assuage these fears.

The industry can also encourage greater adoption by developing and improving open banking interfaces. Banks are the gatekeepers to how easily end-users can authorise certain actions, manage third-party access and navigate different open banking functions. If the interface is user-friendly, customers will have a better experience of the technology and be more likely to use and recommend these services.

A call for communication

Open banking isn’t a new phenomenon. But for consumers, it still feels like one. Despite customers regularly using mobile banking apps,adoption is being hindered by poor communication.  But there is a solution. Clear and transparent messaging can highlight how open banking helps users to manage their finances in a way that suits them.

Banks, then, must give customers the tools needed to fully understand the benefits open banking can offer in augmenting their financial experience. If they successfully reframe the open banking opportunity in the context of ‘smart banking’,  the sky’s the limit.