Open Banking

In this session, we welcomed back special guest, Maria G. Vigliotti, from Sandblocks Consulting (a boutique consultancy specialising in Blockchain and Cyber Security), who gave our attendees an introduction into Open Banking.

Maria is the first author of “The Executive Guide to Blockchain“, a book that demystifies blockchain by offering a jargon-free explanation on all aspects of the technology.

Maria has had a decorated career that spans more than 20 years including; the development of the cybersecurity strategy for the entire British railway industry and worked on prevention of cryptographic attacks on the European Railway Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS). She has also advised most of the major players in the UK nuclear industry on smart device security.

She is a member of the Blockchain Committee of the International Standards Organisation and the Chief Editor for the Journal Frontiers in Blockchain and holds a PhD in Computing from Imperial College London.

During this session we asked Maria;

In laymen’s term, what is OpenBanking and how does it work?
What are the regulations and legislation that govern this technology
What are the guarantees a business can expect when deploying open banking?
We discussed the common confusion that open banking just relates to challenger banks. We explored the other merits of this innovation with regards to third party specialists and how they benefit business.
We spoke about how traditional banks feel about this technology and weather they embrace the innovation or dislike the loss of control.

We also have the audience a chance to share their experiences and ask questions to Maria. They also shared some useful open banking technology that they have encountered including Pension consolidation (PensionBee) and revolutionising the Mortgage application process.

It was generally agreed that this space is ripe for innovation over the years ahead and that we can expect it to be another area that will continue to become more relevant in the future.