The Treasurer has announced an inquiry into future directions for the Consumer Data Right (CDR).

The inquiry will commence in January 2020 and make recommendations to the Treasurer on options to expand the functionality of the Consumer Data Righ by September 2020.

An issues paper will be made available in early 2020 for interested parties to provide input to the inquiry.

According to the Terms of Reference, the Inquiry will examine matters that include how the CDR can be:

• Expanded beyond its current “read” access to include “write” access to enable customers to apply for and manage products (including, for Open Banking, by initiating payments) through application programming interfaces;
• Linked with other frameworks including the New Payments Platform;
• Further used to overcome behavioural and regulatory barriers to allow consumers to conveniently and efficiently switch between products and providers; and
• Enhanced by considering global developments with respect to similar reforms.

The Inquiry will have regard to:

• The Reserve Bank of Australia’s New Payments Platform: Conclusions Paper;
• The ACCC’s home loan price inquiry, in particular its proposed examination of obstacles to home loan switching;
• The Government’s response to the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry;
• Best practice developments internationally and in other industry sectors;
• Competition, fairness, innovation, efficiency, regulatory compliance costs and consumer protection.

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