Data-driven Business Models & Data Sharing in Finance

This advanced course will deep-dive in the emerging trend of so-called Open Finance, the expansion of digital financial services enabled by the sharing, upon consent, of users’ data by service providers. The course will assume participants are already aware of the core principles underpinning this trend and it will instead be dedicated to understanding the breadth of innovative business models that have emerged, the technical complexities of Open Finance implementation, and, especially, the sharing of best-practices for the supervision of the various players active in this space. The course will include several interactive sessions, fostering peer-to-peer learning and best-practice sharing among participants who have already been exposed to the supervision of data-driven business models as part of their professional experience.
The course will start with an overview of the main business models and relevant regulatory initiatives. It will then showcase the technology enabling data sharing and reflect on the evolution from open banking towards open finance as well as on the implications from the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) and screen-scraping technologies. It will also introduce the implications of the layering of open finance and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Special attention will be devoted to the different types of financial services enabled by data-sharing, as well as the different types of providers, with sessions dedicated to open finance from a fintech, BigTech, and TradFi perspectives. The course will then explain the technical challenges associated with running a data-driven business and promoting the standardisation of data sharing practices in the industry while guaranteeing consumer protection. Through perspectives from both the industry and institutions, it will address in technical detailed issues such as API standardisation, cross-border integrability, data-sharing protocols and data custody requirements, remuneration mechanisms, as well as the different characteristics and responsibilities of industry players such as Account Servicing Payment Service Providers, Payment Initiation Service Providers, and Account Information Service Providers.
Finally, the course will reflect on the strengths and limitations of the main regulations that aim to facilitate this market development. It will review PSD2, engage participants in structured peer-to-peer learning to share their experience, challenges, and best practices learnt with its implementation. It will also promote reflections and dialogue on the Commission’s proposed framework for Financial Data Access and on the general prospect, and consumer protection implications, of broader data sharing policies.