Dublin MEP Frances Fitzgerald has been appointed as one of the European Parliament’s negotiators on a new law to protect European customers’ financial data. 

The new Framework for Financial Data Access law will give Irish customers and customers across Europe more control over how their personal financial data is used and shared by companies providing services in the area of pensions, lending, investments, insurance, and others.

Open Finance

The proposed new regulation aims to establish a framework for responsible access to the individual customer data that is collected by financial services companies on customers in the course of their work (also referred to as 'open finance'). 

'Innovative Framework'

"Customers want more choice and better value and an innovative framework can provide that," said Fitzgerald.

"However, this must be balanced by an absolute respect for everyone’s personal data and strong rights and protections for individual customers to protect their data or deny the right for financial services firms to share this data."

Bespoke Financial Products

This data may shared with other firms to develop and offer new or bespoke financial products or services to customers. 

The regulation aims to ensure that all consumers have effective tools to protect and control the use of their financial data by such companies. 

To date, this rapidly growing sector of digital finance has largely been unregulated.

'Data Privacy'

“As our economy becomes more and more digitised, data rights and data privacy will become even more important," said Fitzgerald. 

"That is why it is crucial that we get this new framework right."

Source: www.businessworld.ie