FRT welcomes Linda Jeng, visiting scholar on financial technology at Georgetown University, and Andres Wolberg-Stok, Head of Strategy for the office of the CTO at Citi, to discuss Linda’s recent book on Open Banking, which features chapters written by Andres and the IIF’s Brad Carr.

As a multifaceted and interdisciplinary topic, Linda discusses the book’s deep dive into various themes related to open banking, covering topics from economics of data to consumer rights and decentralized finance. One of the themes they explore is the increasing complexity of issues connected with open banking and how they require a thorough understanding from policymakers and regulators in order to harness the opportunities open banking can provide, while mitigating unintended consequences. Discussing his chapter, Andres establishes the origins of open banking and maps its growth as it relates to digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and data ownership.

The evolution of open banking to open data is one approach they discuss to address these complexities and the competitive landscape where BigTech is superseding FinTech and dominating consumer data. A lack of data sharing across sectors would limit competition objectives in this context and affect consumers’ rights to their data. As policymakers and regulators aim to balance the intersection of financial regulation, data regulation, and tech regulation, consumer’s rights must remain central. Linda’s book, “Open Banking”, can be found on Amazon and the Oxford University Press website.