Open Banking Passes 16.5 Million Users as the FCA Plots Its Next Phase

Eight years after open banking launched in the UK, it has quietly become mainstream infrastructure. There are now more than 16.5 million active user connections across the UK, supported by 145 regulated third-party providers, according to Open Banking Limited's own progress review. The number of open banking payments — where you pay a business directly from your bank account instead of using a card — has grown 53% year on year, per The Payments Association.

What's changing next

Open banking has run since 2018 on rules set under the old EU-derived payments regulation. That's now being replaced: the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 gives open banking a permanent UK legal foundation by folding it into a broader "smart data" framework, rather than a temporary regulatory patch. HM Treasury is expected to hand the Financial Conduct Authority new powers to set open banking rules in 2026, and the FCA plans to consult on a Long-Term Regulatory Framework before the end of the year, as part of its wider vision for open finance.

Practically, a new industry-built payment scheme — the UK Payments Initiative (UKPI) — has also launched to support recurring account-to-account payments, the kind used for subscriptions, rent, and bills, aiming to give businesses and government a cheaper alternative to card processing fees, per FinTech Futures.

What this means for you day to day

If you've connected a budgeting app, a mortgage broker, or a savings app to your bank account by logging in through your bank rather than typing in a password, you've already used open banking. The expansion into "open finance" would extend the same idea beyond current accounts — potentially covering savings, pensions, mortgages and insurance — so a single app could, in theory, pull a genuinely complete picture of your finances together, rather than just your spending.

The trade-off is the same one that's always applied: any third party you connect gets read access to transaction data until you revoke it. It's worth periodically checking which apps still have access to your accounts and removing ones you no longer use.

A quick check-up worth doing

• Log into your online banking and look for a "connected apps" or "third-party access" section.
• Remove access for any app you no longer actively use.
• Only ever grant access by being redirected to your bank's own login page — never by typing your bank password directly into a third-party app.
• Check that any app requesting access is listed on the FCA register as an authorised payment or account information service provider.

International comparison

The UK was an early mover, but other regions are catching up on their own timelines. The EU is moving from PSD2 to a proposed PSD3/Payment Services Regulation framework aimed at tightening fraud liability and expanding data access, running on a slower legislative timetable than the UK's smart data approach. Australia has its own Consumer Data Right, which — like the UK's plan — is expanding sector by sector beyond banking into energy and telecoms. The US has no single mandated open banking regime, relying instead on the CFPB's Section 1033 rules on financial data access, which have faced legal challenges and a slower rollout than either the UK or Australian models.

Key Numbers

• 16.5 million — active open banking user connections in the UK
• 145 — regulated third-party providers live in the market
• 53% — year-on-year growth in open banking payment volumes
• 8 years — since open banking's UK launch in 2018

Sources

• Open Banking Limited — 8 Years of Open Banking
• The Payments Association — state of open banking payments 2026
• FCA — vision for open finance
• FinTech Futures — UKPI open banking payment framework

Educational content only — not financial advice.