Your Customers Already Have an Open Banking Strategy

Open banking discussions often focus on regulation, data sharing requirements, application programming interface (API) strategies and competitive threats from fintechs. While those considerations matter, they can distract from a more fundamental reality: Customers already have an open banking strategy.

For many consumers and businesses, financial relationships no longer exist within a single institution. Customers use payment apps, budgeting tools, investment platforms, accounting software, digital wallets and a growing number of specialized financial applications. They routinely connect accounts across providers to create experiences that fit their needs.

Regardless of how institutions choose to participate in that ecosystem as technology advances many customers are already operating this way.

Historically, financial institutions benefited from being the primary destination for a customer’s financial life. While account primacy is still a foundational element of growth and retention, the competition is increasingly about maintaining relevance within a broader ecosystem of financial relationships.

Recent research from Accenture’s 2025 Global Banking Consumer Study found that nearly three-quarters of retail banking customers maintain a relationship with at least one competing financial institution. In that same study, banks with the highest customer advocacy scores achieved revenue growth rates 1.7 times faster than their peers globally and 2.6 times faster in North America. The message is clear: Customers are expanding their financial relationships, but the institutions they trust most continue to earn a larger share of wallet.

This is why open banking should be viewed less as a technology initiative and more as a strategic response to changing customer expectations.

The question is no longer whether customers will share financial data with third parties. The question is whether that sharing occurs through secure, transparent, permission-based mechanisms or through less controlled alternatives.

Open banking is often misunderstood as giving third parties access to customer information. In reality, its greatest value may be limiting access. Historically, consumers were often required to share banking credentials to connect financial applications. Open banking replaces that model with permission-based access, allowing customers to authorize only the information necessary for a specific purpose. Put simply, why hand someone the keys to the entire house when they only need access to one room?

That shift is not about giving away more data. It is about giving customers greater control over how their data is shared. In fact, the Financial Data Exchange (FDX), the industry consortium helping establish open finance standards in the U.S., is built around principles that include control, transparency, traceability and security. This reflects a broader shift in banking, moving from simply verifying identity to giving customers more control over what they share and with whom.

For banks willing to embrace it, this creates an opportunity rather than a threat.

The most successful institutions will not necessarily be those that attempt to own every financial experience. Instead, they may be the ones that make it easiest, safest and most transparent for customers to connect the experiences they already value. That requires a willingness to view fintechs not simply as competitors but as potential partners in delivering customer value.

The strongest bank-fintech partnerships are not built around adding features for the sake of innovation. They are built around solving real customer problems while preserving the trust, security and governance standards customers expect from their financial institution. This stresses the importance of evaluating partnerships based not only on technological capabilities, but also on how effectively they strengthen customer relationships.

Open banking is often framed as a competitive challenge. In reality, it may represent a trust opportunity. As boards consider their strategic priorities for the coming years, one question deserves attention: If your customers have already embraced an open financial ecosystem, how will your institution remain at the center of it?