By Grant Augustin, CEO and Founder, SISS Data Services
In the evolving world of financial technology and lending, data is currency, and how that data is accessed and shared, along with the quality of it is fundamental to business success. For years, industry leaders have debated the merits of Open Banking and the Consumer Data Right (CDR) versus legacy methods like screen scraping. Yet, as we move through 2026, that debate is no longer about if Open Banking will dominate, but how quickly businesses can embrace this new standard before falling behind.
For years, the CDR has hovered on the horizon as a promising yet cautious reform. Technology leaders in lending and financial services have observed its gradual rollout with a blend of curiosity and scepticism, aware of the early challenges of Open Banking and heavily invested in legacy methods like screen scraping. But as we navigate through 2026, the reality is unmistakable, the conversation has shifted. It’s now turned to how the CDR environment can evolve from a complex regulatory experiment into an operational enabler reshaping how financial data is accessed and shared.
What does the next phase of Open Banking look like?
Increasing adoption of Open Banking signals a clear turning point. One that isn’t just about access, but has a renewed focus on trust and consent. For fintech innovators and lenders, understanding why this shift is happening, and why sticking with outdated practices now carries significant risk is essential to future-proofing products and meeting rising customer expectations.
Open Banking’s initial emergence felt like an experiment marked by technical limitations, incomplete data standards, and a demanding compliance environment. However, the ecosystem has matured significantly in the last few years. Today, CDR powered data exchange is far more reliable, accurate, and built to support critical business processes.
A key issue emerging from this transition is the continued reliance on screen scraping and credential-sharing practices across parts of the ecosystem, despite growing expectations around security and consent management. With major banks implementing more stringent security measures, the question for CTOs, Heads of Product, and fintech innovators is no longer whether to adopt CDR, but how quickly they can make the transition before sticking with outdated approaches becomes a liability.
Let’s peak behind the curtain with a real look at screen scraping
The year 2025 proved pivotal as consumer expectations evolved. Australians have become more data-savvy and now expect secure, consent-based data sharing. The risky practice of handing over banking passwords, a necessity for screen scraping, is quickly losing favour.
Screen scraping introduces unacceptable risk across security, compliance and data integrity. The industry is starting to wake up to this, as consumers become savvier about their digital credentials and what they view as an acceptable risk. With data theft and cybersecurity increasing, it’s only right that that credential sharing and screen scraping become highly scrutinised. For instance, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has found that customers who have used the services of FinTech’s relying on screen scraping are at least twice as likely to experience digital fraud, compared to those who do not share their account credentials1.
Screen scraping requires customers to share their banking passwords. In an era of high-profile data breaches (think Optus and Medibank), asking customers to violate their own bank’s terms and conditions by sharing passwords is a massive friction point. With CDR, no passwords or credentials are shared. This builds trust and significantly lowers the security risk profile.
It is very hard to defend screen scraping as more than an antiquated process that is increasingly being viewed as an operational and enterprise risk. The commercial and technical realities of Open Banking, and what this could mean for consumers and business is speeding up the transition, further encouraging business to move away from it.
Tackling the myths and embracing the future of financial data sharing
Participation has surged, clear evidence that Open Banking has moved beyond regulation into becoming a central feature of Australia’s digital financial ecosystem.
Still, some lenders and fintech companies hesitate. One common perception is that screen scraping provides more complete data. Historically, this was true, especially concerning complex business accounts or granular transaction details that early CDR standards didn’t fully encompass. However, that gap has narrowed considerably. The quality of CDR data feeds which are structured, standardised, and API-driven are far superior to the unstructured “mess” that screen scraping often returns.
Another myth persists around real-time access. Some believe CDR APIs are slower or less responsive. While early API latency issues gave rise to this concern, stringent performance standards enforced by regulators have closed many gaps. In contrast, screen scraping remains fragile; website interface updates and multi-factor authentication changes frequently break scraping tools, causing outages that threaten timely decision-making far more than minor delays in API responses.
Business banking consent presents another layer of difficulty. Unlike personal accounts, business accounts often involve multiple authorised representatives, many of whom are not formally registered. This complicates the digital consent process under current rules and sometimes frustrates users. Fortunately, solutions are on the horizon. Banks are responding to calls to adopt more inclusive “in by default” authorisation models or digital opt-in processes, while government efforts to update CDR rules for complex business structures aim to streamline this process.
Global momentum
Looking overseas, we can see the trajectory in the UK, Open Banking has exploded, with over 7 million active users. In mainland Europe, it’s even larger. Open banking is now a global reality with active or developing initiatives in 61 countries2. The lesson from the overseas is that once the tipping point is reached, adoption accelerates rapidly. Australia is approaching that tipping point now.
A fair pathway forward
Industry momentum towards bypassing or even banning scraping altogether is growing, making reliance on legacy methods increasingly precarious. Australian banks are making moves towards actively shutting down screen scraping. Institutions are instead promoting official API-based data sharing. FinTech’s clinging to screen scraping risk sudden disruptions and reputational damage. Transitioning to CDR is no longer optional; it is essential to safeguarding service continuity and customer confidence.
These processes can’t change overnight, and there needs to be a fair pathway to end legacy methods like screen scraping, but there should be a unified plan in place. One that has been developed in consultation with the industry and the businesses it impacts. A fair pathway forward could be 12-month transition period. It is unlikely we will get such a structured approach, but it is one that could offer a fair transition time.
Future compliance
The complexity of CDR compliance intimidates some businesses. Navigating accreditation, security requirements, and managing consent can seem daunting compared to continuing legacy practices. By working with knowledgeable partners, companies can simplify compliance and choose the best participation model to reduce risk.
About Grant Augustin, CEO and Founder
Grant Augustin is CEO and Founder of SISS Data Services, a leader in secure bank data feeds with over 15 years of experience helping fintechs and lenders unlock the potential of financial data.
1 https://lawcouncil.au/publicassets/f28766bd-4f78-ee11-948c-005056be13b5/4441%20-%20S%20-%20Screen%20scraping%20docx.pdf
2 https://www.retailbankerinternational.com/sponsored/open-banking-moving-from-compliance-to-cashflows/
