Conducted by Payit by NatWest, the survey involved 150 business leaders from UK organisations with a yearly revenue exceeding £2 million, underscoring the efficiency and cost-saving benefits of open banking in streamlining payment processing and operational finance tasks, thereby enhancing customer experiences.

Businesses incorporating open banking into their payment systems reported a notable reduction in the time allocated to finance-related tasks, averaging 44.5 hours monthly, compared to their counterparts without open banking, who spent over 57 hours. This time saving translates to more than 150 hours annually, equating to over four work weeks. Financial benefits were also observed, with businesses not utilising open banking incurring an additional £1,687 annually on payment processing and £1,117 more on card processing fees, marking an 8% yearly increase in expenditure.

Six years since its inception, open banking has significantly grown in recognition, with a 97% awareness rate among UK firms. The research further highlights a correlation between a business's revenue and its familiarity with open banking, noting a decrease in awareness as revenue declines.

Open banking's ability to securely integrate data with third-party applications and services offers businesses access to innovative payment tools, automated financial management, and instantaneous updates, thereby minimising the time spent on relevant tasks. Financial experts advocate for the adoption of open banking, citing its potential for businesses to access real-time data for improved decision-making and the facilitation of payment management.

Evidence from the study also suggests that businesses utilising open banking face fewer issues with finance-related tasks. Only 26% of users identified late payments as a significant problem, in contrast to 42% of non-users. Access to real-time data through open banking was seen as a means to enhance customer experience (39%) and increase payment efficiency while lowering operational costs (37%).

Despite these advantages, the adoption of open banking faces obstacles, notably cybersecurity concerns, cited by 48% of businesses. This is despite open banking's adherence to Finance Grade API specifications, offering bank-level security, and regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or a National Competent Authority.

Mike Elliff, CEO at PayIt by NatWest, said, “It’s encouraging to see UK businesses embracing open banking and benefitting from the operational and cost efficiencies it can bring. We hope to see this awareness and adoption of new payment solutions grow and would encourage businesses to give it a go.

“While the concerns around security and fraud are apparent in this research, businesses can be confident that open banking is based on the security inherent in your online or app-based bank account. Wider understanding of this could help tackle barriers to implementation and open opportunities for businesses to lower operational spend and move closer to their objectives.

“As the financial landscape evolves, companies embracing the technology stand to gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing business environment.”