Zopa to build Open Banking infrastructure
ZOPA is planning on building its own Open Banking infrastructure to capitalise on the new “game changing” legislation.
The peer-to-peer consumer lender, which is also planning to launch a digital bank, said the new product could be used in a personal finance management tool or to help it make better lending decisions.
Zopa is currently advertising for a technology-focused product manager who will lead the team building the Open Banking infrastructure.
A European directive – the Payment Services Directive II (PSD2) – comes into effect next year mandating banks to share consumer data with third-party providers, including alternative lenders. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is pushing through similar legislation at the same time, referred to as Open Banking.
In its job advert, Zopa said that the new product manager would work closely with other product teams to help them understand and utilise the new Open Banking service; would engage with regulatory conversation around Open Banking and PSD2; and help Zopa’s other employees understand how the new rules could be “game changing”.
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“This is a super exciting role for anyone who’s been following Open Banking, who loves APIs, and who wants to play a part in actually making the possibilities real for consumers,” Zopa said.
At LendIt Europe last October, Zopa’s chief product officer Andrew Lawson heralded the new rules as “a really exciting opportunity” that could potentially broaden the company’s product offering.
“It creates interesting opportunities in terms of how we validate customers, things such as KYC and fraud checks, and will open up new data on pricing,” he said.
In November 2016, Zopa announced plans to launch a digital bank that will sit alongside its P2P operations, enabling it to offer a wider range of products.
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