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The 2025 CDR Summit was held on 17 July, bringing together industry heads who are leading the charge in promoting and adopting open banking.
A panel discussion, moderated by MFAA executive Naveen Ahluwalia, unpacked mortgage brokers’ role in driving the acceptance of CDR.
Joining the panel were Kevin Quach, principal broker partner at MLS Finance; Ben Ruming, chief data officer at Teachers Mutual Bank; Renee Blethyn, head of broker partnerships at NextGen; and Nicole Devine, executive general manager, product and technology at Mortgage Choice.
As a representative of broker usage, Quach said the implementation of CDR and open banking has allowed for a seamless and swift experience for both brokers and borrowers.
Brokers are able to access customer statements for up to a year, requiring consent from the borrower. You don’t have to use their username and passwords. All you needed was a one-time code to log.
Mortgage Choice has recently rolled the process out among its approximately 800 franchises and 1,100 brokers.
Productivity and efficiency were the key inspirations behind the implementation, with Devine noting it has allowed for a more seamless experience.
Another key advantage of open banking is safety and security. Devine said brokers can “lose all credibility” if clients can’t trust that their data is going to remain private and secure.
She said screen scraping won’t be around for much longer and, in order to “future proof”, brokers need to begin engaging with CDR and open banking.
The panellist agreed it was a “no-brainer”. Ruming said Teachers Mutual advocates open banking because any system that makes processes easier for members is something that should be invested in.
Uptake hasn’t been as consistent as NextGen is hoping. The journey began in 2021 and the first order of business was integrating open banking into NextGen’s platform.
Since there has been a constant fight to get lenders and brokers on board, aggregators have slowly integrated open banking, but progress has been stalled, said Blethyn.
This opened up an opportunity to connect directly with brokers. The uptake from brokers encouraged more lenders to implement this tech and now Westpac and CBA have integrated into NextGen’s platform, with a third major to be announced.
“We’re trying to build a solution that’s for the future but caters for what people need today to be able to make it viable to continue as we transform. And I’m hoping for a place where those statements are no longer required as part of the application process, so that that rich data that we’ve talked about that is safe, that is trusted, can actually be relied upon, and take even more of the burden away from the mortgage broker so that they can deliver an even better experience,” said Blethyn.
Blethyn said all brokers can access open banking now. The challenge remains educating them and consumers on the benefits.
Devine added that while getting brokers familiarised with open banking is important, there needs to be more done to promote the benefits for consumers.
Quach agreed and said that once the initial uncertainty is overcome, borrowers are welcoming of the process.
Uptake in open banking requires a concerted effort from brokers to familiarise themselves with the process and educate clients on the benefits.
There are ongoing discussions and consultations regarding the potential ban on screen scraping. If this happens, brokers will have no choice but to adopt open banking.
Being proactive and engaging with the systems early can help remove the stress of future change, while simultaneously improving efficiency and security.
[Related: Open banking underutilised by brokers]
