Open Up 2017

Open Up 2017

What was Open Up 2017 about?

The Open Up Challenge was a £5m prize fund backed by the CMA to inspire the creation of next-generation services, apps and tools designed for the UK’s 5 million small businesses. It was funded by HSBC, Lloyds Bank, RBS, Santander and Barclays.

The Challenge was designed to encourage fintech firms to explore the opportunities provided by the new open banking data, which was being made available from 2018, to transform the way small businesses discover, access and use financial services.

The prize was split into two stages; the first focused on surfacing innovation and the second on performance, growth and resilience

What was Stage 1 of the Challenge about?

During the first stage, new and existing players were given exclusive access to the Open Up Data Sandbox, containing one of the largest anonymised UK banking transaction datasets ever made available for open innovation. through which they could develop their prototypes.

The judges accepted applications from businesses around the world and 20 successful entrants were given a £50,000 cash grant in July. We then supported these teams in the development of their concepts and accelerating progress by creating Prototype Awards.

10 of these fintechs were then selected as winners in December 2017 and given £100,000 to develop the products assessed as most likely to have a positive impact on UK small businesses in 2018 and beyond.

The stage 1 winners

Impact of the Challenge

  • Over 80% of innovators were able to bring their innovations to market faster because of the Challenge. Legal support led teams through unfamiliar regulations and authorisation processes.
  • The Challenge ensured that when open banking went live, SMEs of all sizes were able to choose from a diverse mix of tools and equipped teams to compete in this new market.
  • Over 80% of innovators indicated that the Challenge increased their understanding of the open banking standards.
  • The Challenge also created a feedback loop between Open Banking Limited (OBL), the body responsible for developing the open banking standards, and the fintech community.

Why did we do this?

Who were the Challenge Judges?

  • Angus McLean, Simmons & Simmons LLP
  • Imran Gulamhuseinwala, EY
  • Rowena Ironside, Digital Catapult & Women on Boards
  • Jeni Tennison, Open Data Institute
  • John Egan, Anthemis Group
  • Niamh Barker, The Travelwrap Company
  • Owain Service, Behavioural Insights Team
  • Peter Smith, Blockchain
  • Richard Roberts, University of Birmingham
  • Simon Wardley, Leading Edge Forum