Open banking legislation or regulation has now been implemented in approximately 60 jurisdictions globally. Despite this widespread adoption, the vast majority of banks continue to treat the initiative as a strict cost centre. According to a new release, many financial institutions lack a commercial model, a clear path to revenue, or any real incentive to push beyond the regulatory minimums.
To combat this industry-wide stagnation, Ozone API—a company founded by the original authors of the UK open banking standard—has published Commercialising Open Banking: A Practical Guide. The free resource is designed to give banks a clear, actionable framework for building sustainable commercial models around their Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
Moving beyond a compliance mindset
Huw Davies, co-founder and CEO of Ozone API, highlighted the missed opportunities in the current financial landscape.
“Open banking is now operating in around 60 jurisdictions. That should be a moment to celebrate. But the honest reality is most banks are still treating it as a compliance project,” Davies stated. “No commercial model, no revenue, no real incentive to go further. We wrote this guide because we’ve sat with banks, central banks, and regulators across six continents and seen what works.”
He added: “The shift from compliance to commercialisation isn’t complicated. But it does require banks to make a deliberate decision to build a commercial model, not bolt one on as an afterthought.”
A three-tier framework for API commercialisation
The new guide introduces a three-category framework based on successful digital deployments observed across global markets:
- Foundational APIs: These form the regulatory baseline, but also serve as the critical foundation for customer retention, market positioning, and broader ecosystem participation.
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Premium APIs: These are value-added services—such as enhanced payments, identity verification, and enriched data—that third parties will actively pay to access.
- Distribution Channel APIs: These interfaces allow banks to embed their own products directly wherever customers need them, effectively turning open banking into a genuine growth channel.
Navigating a fragmented global market
The resource provides insights tailored to all major global markets. This includes the UK ahead of its upcoming open finance expansion, and the EU as the industry awaits final PSD3 texts expected in the first half of 2026.
It also examines the US market, where commercialisation is taking centre stage while regulatory progress under Section 1033 stalls, and Brazil, which currently boasts 35 million active users and processes a staggering 2.3 billion successful API communications every week.
Beyond pure API strategy, the guide addresses the practical hurdles of digital transformation. It explores platform requirements, the classic ‘build vs. buy’ dilemma, common implementation pitfalls, and realistic project timelines. It also provides advice on how to secure internal buy-in across technology, product, legal, and executive teams to ensure commercial projects don’t stall.
