Open Banking

Last Updated: September 2025

Open Banking in Australia: Taking control of your financial data

The power dynamic between you and your bank has shifted significantly. The data that financial institutions hold about you; transaction histories, account balances, spending habits; is legally yours. You have the right to share it securely with accredited third parties to get better deals, faster service, or deeper insights into your money.

This system, known as Open Banking, operates under a legal framework called the Consumer Data Right (CDR). It is reshaping how Australians manage their finances. If you have applied for credit or used a budgeting app recently, you have likely encountered it. Instead of uploading months of bank statements, you are asked to log in to your bank via a secure portal. This allows the service provider to access a snapshot of your transaction history instantly.

Understanding how this system works is essential for managing your finances in 2025.

The quick guide: How to share your data

When a provider asks to use Open Banking to access your data, you will go through a standardised consent process. It is designed to be secure and transparent.

1. The request: The service provider (like a lender or a fintech app) asks for your permission to access specific financial data. They must be accredited by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
2. Clarity of consent: The request must clearly state what data they want, how they will use it, and how long they will have access (maximum 12 months).
3. Redirection to your bank: You are securely redirected to your own bank’s login page or app. You authenticate yourself directly with your bank using your normal security procedures.
4. Authorisation: Your bank confirms which accounts you are willing to share data from.
5. Data transfer: The bank sends the data securely to the accredited recipient via an Application Programming Interface (API), a secure digital pipeline.
6. Ongoing management: You can view and revoke your consent at any time through your bank’s online dashboard or the recipient’s app.

Crucially, the third party never sees or stores your banking login credentials.

Open Banking & PressPay

On PressPay, Open Banking is the new standard way you connect your bank account. When you start an application, you will select your bank and authorise a secure, read-only data share so PressPay can view the transactions and balances of the accounts you choose. This is how PressPay verifies your income, pay cycle and affordability; it does not give PressPay control over your money or access to your login credentials.

To avoid delays or being asked to reconnect, make sure you link your main everyday transaction account — the account your wages are paid into. If your salary lands in more than one place, connect the account that consistently shows your payroll deposits (as long as it’s a transaction type account, which can also be used to make payments such as direct debits). 

What is the Consumer Data Right?

Open Banking is the first application of the Consumer Data Right (CDR). The CDR is Australian legislation based on the principle of data portability: the data businesses hold about you belongs to you, not them.

For decades, banks held a monopoly on your financial information. The CDR forces institutions to share your data if you ask them to.

The goal is to increase competition and innovation. If you can easily move your transaction history and usage patterns to a competitor, existing providers must work harder to keep your business. It is designed to make it easier for Australians to compare products and switch providers.

The mechanics of the system

The CDR ecosystem involves three main participants, regulated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Data Holders (DHs): These are the institutions currently holding your data. This includes all Australian banks, credit unions, and building societies. They are legally required to share data upon your instruction.

Accredited Data Recipients (ADRs): These are the third parties you authorise to receive your data. They include other banks, fintech companies, lenders, comparison services, and budgeting apps. To become an ADR, a company must undergo a rigorous accreditation process focusing on data security, privacy protection, and insurance requirements.

The Consumer: You are the data owner and must provide explicit, informed consent for any data sharing.

The transfer of information happens through secure APIs. These connections adhere to strict standards set by the Data Standards Body (DSB).

Security and the eventual end of screen scraping

Security concerns are valid when talking about financial data. Before Open Banking, sharing financial data often involved ‘screen scraping’.

This practice required you to provide your banking username and password which would then be used to securely log in on your behalf and ‘scrape’ the banking information from your bank’s internet banking platform.

While this method is still considered a secure way to provide banking information in a simple and easy process, Open Banking was designed to replace this practice and is considered substantially safer. This is because Accredited Data Recipients do not require any banking passwords to be shared. Authentication and approval happens directly with your bank, and the data transfer is encrypted end to end.

While screen scraping is still widely used in the Australian market as at September 2025, the Federal Government has signalled a clear intention to phase out the practice where the CDR provides a viable alternative.

Consent is central

The CDR system is opt in. Your data cannot be shared unless you give explicit permission.

The rules around how your consent is gathered are strict:

• It must be clear: Providers must use simple language to explain what data they are collecting and why.
• It must be specific: You choose exactly which accounts and types of data to share.
• It is time limited: Consent lasts for a maximum of 12 months. After that, the provider must ask for your permission again.
• It is revocable: You can stop sharing your data at any time. Once revoked, the ADR must delete or de identify the data they collected.

Practical applications in 2025

The maturity of the Open Banking system offers several concrete benefits to Australian consumers.

Streamlined loan applications Applying for a mortgage, car loan, or personal credit traditionally involved gathering months of bank statements and payslips. Open Banking automates this. By granting consent, a lender can instantly access and categorise your income and expenses. This speeds up the approval process significantly, often reducing weeks of work to minutes.

Income verification Services requiring proof of income, such as rental applications or accessing fintech services, can use Open Banking for instant verification. Services like PressPay use Open Banking to securely verify income and affordability, enabling quick access to earned wages without manual documentation.

Sophisticated financial management Budgeting apps can now provide a holistic view of your finances. You can connect accounts from multiple banks and credit cards into a single dashboard. These tools offer accurate spending categorisation and insights into your financial health based on real time data.

Better product comparison Open Banking allows comparison services to analyse your actual usage patterns rather than relying on estimates. This leads to recommendations tailored to your specific circumstances.