P&N Group granted access to open banking data

Customer-owned banking body, and the owner of P&N Bank and bcu, P&N Group has been named as an accredited data recipient (ADR) under the federal government’s consumer data right (CDR) initiative.

This now allows it to receive a customer’s information under opening banking and CDR – the underlying intention being to ensure data security while also streamlining financial processes through the sharing of relevant data. 

As per the CDR website at the time of writing, there are currently 23 ADRs in Australia, including three of the four major banks, with nine being considered “active”.

P&N Group is now the third customer-owned financial institution accredited as an ADR.

The bank has also announced that it will be collaborating with fintech and open banking provider Frollo as a means to provide “greater financial empowerment and superior customer experience” via a five-year “transformation journey”. 

P&N Group chief transformation officer, Phil Thistlethwaite said this transition is focusing on making banking easier for its customers while also being intended to provide customers with more control – one of the first steps of this direction being a new open banking platform currently expected to launch next year.

“We will initially offer customers a more holistic and enriching digital experience through our open banking Personal Financial Empowerment (PFE) platform to be launched in early 2022, which will complement our P&N Bank and bcu retail brands’ existing suite of digital banking tools,” Mr Thistlethwaite continued. 

“By offering customer-centric technology that solves key financial pain points, such as money management and the home loan application process, not only will we  make it easy to bank with us, we will also make it easy for our customers to get ahead.”

Mr Thistlethwaite later added that he felt consumer trust was a “key element” in the development of this new way of banking. 

“That’s why we’ve partnered with Frollo, a trusted organisation, to deliver an open banking solution that ensures customers can safely and securely share and manage their data and information,” Mr Thistlethwaite said.

“The biggest change to banking we’ve seen in years is just around the corner, and we’re inspired and motivated to leverage this to create a bright future for our customers.”

Earlier this week (23 November), aggregator AFG confirmed that it too had partnered with Frollo, signing to its CDR Gateway platform. 

[Related: Open banking most used for expense verification: Frollo]