Eimear O'Connor

Open banking was covered widely at this week's Labour Party Conference, with widespread recognition of its critical role in powering UK economic growth and innovation. A standout moment was our Policy Director, Luke Ryder joining a fintech panel alongside Luke Charters MP, TrueLayer’s Megan Coulson, Financial Conduct Authority's Sacha Sadan, and Startup Coalition’s Charlie Mercer. The discussion explored: ✅ The journey OBL is supporting with industry and regulators to secure a long-term framework for open banking; ✅ How we can accelerate progress towards Open Finance to unlock benefits for consumers, businesses and the wider economy; ✅ The growing collaboration across the ecosystem to make this vision a reality. We were also pleased to participate in Innovate Finance and EY’s roundtable on Tech’s Plan for Change, where open banking was highlighted as a prime example of UK-led innovation. Attendees welcomed the move towards a sustainable, long-term model that supports the full ecosystem and enables continued growth. OBL remains committed to working with industry, policymakers, regulators, and consumer and business representatives to support this flourishing UK sector and ensure open banking continues to play a pivotal role in driving inclusive economic growth. #OpenBanking #OpenFinance #Innovation #FinTech #FutureOfFinance #Innovation #DigitalInnovation #TechInnovation The Labour Party

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If you ever question why collaboration pays, look at this result: advocacy groups from the #payments industry including UK Finance and The Payments Association have prevented well-meaning but disproportionate regulators from imposing 'creative' but what would have been seriously damaging changes to safeguarding regulations in the UK. The team at Travers Smith led by Natalie Lewis and Matt Humphreys highlight this outcome in their article, explaining how the changes being made will mean EMIs and PIs can continue to compete on a level playing field. World class collaboration. Riccardo Tordera-Ricchi Robert Courtneidge Mitch (Munish) Trehan Neil Harris Jana Mackintosh Nuala Jackson Sophie Boissier Ben Agnew Tom Brewin https://lnkd.in/evjedX7H

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We’ve launched #PayShap request for merchants in Beta! Peach Payments, in partnership with Investec Bank, now offers #PayShap Request for Merchants - a real-time payment solution that allows businesses to request and receive payments using just a customer’s mobile number.  Why merchants are excited about #PayShap: ✨ Instant settlement – get paid in seconds, not days ✨ Lower costs – one of the cheapest payment options available ✨ Secure & frictionless checkout – no screen scraping, less fraud risk ✨ Higher conversions – a real-time payment method that keeps customers in flow Perfect for enterprises in South Africa, #PayShap helps merchants sell without delay while improving both cost efficiency and customer experience. #ThinkBigger #PayShap #PaymentsInnovation #InstantPayments #PeachPayments

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Monzo Bank has become the latest bank to join the MTD goldrush as the digital bank announces that sole traders and landlords will be able to file taxes directly to HMRC from their business bank account without the need for separate software. The filing tool, provided via a partnership with Sage Embedded services, supports the quarterly MTD submissions and end-of-year returns, starting from the 2026/2027 tax year. Monzo joins the likes of NatWest Group, Starling and Tide in the race to attract business bank accounts -- a recommended step in the MTD process. Full story in the comments below 👇

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Trustly x Virgin Media O2 🚀 A game-changing partnership in UK payments! We’re proud to announce a groundbreaking collaboration with Virgin Media O2 — marking an industry first in the UK as we bring the power of Open Banking and Pay by Bank to millions of their customers. Together, we’re setting a new standard for eCommerce and digital payments — making checkout experiences faster, more secure, and frictionless. 🎥 Don’t miss our exclusive video with Johan Tjärnberg, CEO of Trustly Group, and Abraham Georgakarakos, VP of Digital & eCommerce at Virgin Media O2 – sharing why this partnership is a milestone for both innovation and customer experience. This launch builds on strong momentum: ✅ Digital wallet payments rolled out for Virgin Media O2 contract customers ✅ A successful Open Banking pilot in 2024 ✅ And now — full-scale Pay-by-Bank payments, powered by Trustly We’re just getting started. Stay tuned — the future of payments is here.

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Challenger bank expands after £5 billion boost “We’ve built a resilient, diversified balance sheet that sets us up for sustainable profitability – and we’re still building momentum.” Chetwood Bank has unveiled expansion plans after breaking a £5 billion balance sheet benchmark. The digital lender is opening a Manchester office which will build on existing bases in London, Wrexham and Fleet, leaving it primed to continue its momentum across the UK banking sector. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eZpHStrf Paul Noble

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🎥 There’s something about Brighton that makes big NatWest Group ideas flow, even in the rain 🌧️☔️🌈 While catching up with Chris Plank ☁ from the NatWest Group Hosting Solutions team, we dived into the open source that really happens within the major financial institution. Chris Plank ☁ isn’t just a NatWest Group colleague, he’s a recognised voice in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and recently appointed Technical Community Lead for Platform Engineering 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 In this vlog, we talk about: 💬 How NatWest is leaning into open source collaboration through the OSPO ☁️ Why Cloud Native matters for open source contribution. Thank you Edward Newman, Mark Campbell and Ken Adamson 👌🏻 🤝 The importance of open source engineering, from FINOS to CNCF, and how sharing code creates progress for everyone Walking through the Brighton lanes, this chat captures exactly why open source thrives when curiosity meets collaboration 🎤📹 Huge thanks to Chris Plank ☁ for sharing his insights in part one of this multi series vlog ✨🧙🏻‍♂️ #OpenSource #CNCF #NatWestGroup #CloudNative #Collaboration #BrightonTech

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