The Australian government wants feedback on the next steps in open finance from the Consumer Data Right

Consultation on expansion of the Consumer Data Right (CDR) to open finance has been kicked off by the Australian government. 

A consultation paper released today calls for public input on datasets to be considered from non-bank lending providers, offering fintechs the chance to develop innovative consumer use cases. 

Earlier this year, the federal government announced ‘Open Finance’ as the next focus for the expansion of the CDR to build on the initial roll out of Open Banking. The next stage will see an expansion in the number of financial products and services covered by CDR to include non-bank lending, merchant acquiring, general insurance and superannuation.

The 20-page consultation paper points out that digitising the Australian economy could deliver up to $315 billion in benefits over the next decade. CDR is a key aspect of Australia’s Digital Economy Strategy 2030 and a new pillar of competition policy.

The CDR is also a fundamental right for Australian consumers and businesses to have power over data generated about them, to share and extract value from this data and help to access the many benefits of progress in digital infrastructure and capability.

Superannuation, financial services and the digital economy minister said Senator Jane Hume the move into new finance sectors is designed to enhance the value of existing CDR data through cross-sectoral applications to give consumers a more complete picture of their finances. 

“We are seeking feedback from industry on how adding non-bank lending datasets to the CDR will impact on providers and benefit consumers,” she said

“Industry and stakeholder consultation at every step of the way is an important feature of our pathway to an economy-wide application of CDR. It not only supports practical implementation and explores benefits, it also ensures we build a high-value and robust data access system together,” she said.

The government plans to conduct further consultation on the expansion of the CDR to the merchant acquiring, superannuation and general insurance sectors later this year. 

The consultation paper is on the Treasury website. Submissions close on Tuesday, April 12.