#FinOpen: With around US$ 3.15 billion in credit originated through Open Finance in Brazil, how are different countries using this data to make decisions?
W FINTECHS NEWSLETTER #143
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👉 W Fintechs is a newsletter focused on financial innovation. Every Monday, at 8:21 a.m. (Brasília time), you will receive an in-depth analysis in your email.
Welcome to the edition of the Finance is Open series.
Every other Wednesday, in addition to the traditional Monday editions, I will cover key topics and the latest updates on what's happening in Open Finance, both in Brazil and around the world.
Finance is Open is sponsored by
Iniciador is the complete infrastructure platform specialized in Regulated Open Finance, enabling Payment Initiation and Data Access.
The solution removes technology and compliance concerns, allowing clients — with their own regulatory license or using Iniciador’s — to focus on new products and business growth.
Data drives decisions, but for a long time, the lack of information about loan applicants led institutions to say “no” more often than they wanted. The absence of history, context, and real signals of financial behavior left millions of people and small businesses on the margins of the system. Technology kept evolving, but data remained scarce — closed, fragmented or, worse, inaccessible.
Open Finance is changing that. In Brazil, over R$ 18 billion (USD 3.15 billion) in credit has already been originated based on data shared directly by users, according to the Central Bank 1. Fintechs alone have issued R$ 3.2 billion in new loans, reaching 4.3 million customers. In addition, more than 13 million people now receive alerts about balances and debits across multiple accounts, while around 30 million have adopted financial management tools.
Corporate usage has also grown: in 2024, solutions tailored to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses moved R$ 7 billion, and a single institution disbursed R$306 million in working capital loans at reduced rates. And while Brazil stands out for the speed of adoption, it’s not alone.
In many parts of the world, similar open data structures are beginning to reshape the financial sector. In the UK, Open Banking data is already used for predictive analytics in insurance and lending. In India, the consent-based system powered by the Account Aggregator connects banks, fintechs, and consumers with impressive granularity and interoperability.
Among regulated jurisdictions, South Korea, India, Brazil, the European Union, and Australia allow the sharing of major types of financial data — from payments and loans to investments, mortgages, and pensions. This broader scope is essential for more complete credit assessments, capable of reflecting the complexity of modern financial lives. By contrast, countries like the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Colombia still restrict sharing to payments data only.
The adoption timeline also reveals strategic differences. Australia and India moved quickly from Open Banking to Open Finance. Meanwhile, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have only started structuring these initiatives in the past two years — yet even so, with ambitious scopes from the outset.
Globally, Open Finance has taken shape in two main ways: as account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure and as data infrastructure. Financial institutions, fintechs, and credit bureaus are using banking data to improve risk analysis, expand access, and personalize decisions based on behavioral evidence, not just static credit scores.
In the UK, the partnership between Tymit and Equifax is a clear example of this shift. Focused on the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market, the companies use banking data via Open Banking to better understand users' financial commitments, adjust credit limits, and offer more sustainable lending.
British credit unions are seeing strong results with Open Banking. Central Liverpool Credit Union, in partnership with NestEgg.ai and Truelayer, began making near real-time decisions and released an additional £700,000 into the market based on more reliable risk profiles. Police Credit Union, working with Credit Kudos, expanded credit access for military personnel and other groups with limited financial histories.
In the US, Equifax is moving forward with Prism Data to calculate the CashScore, an indicator based on real cash flow. Instead of relying on retrospective data or estimates, CashScore reflects daily financial behavior — a helpful approach for so-called thin file consumers with little formal credit history.
In the housing space, UK-based Homely, also in partnership with Equifax, enables new buyers to access home loans based on recurring payments — such as rent and utility bills — verified in real time.
In the Middle East, Yabx partnered with Fintech Galaxy to support SMEs through real-time data-based credit analysis, offering an alternative to the bias that penalizes informal businesses or those with limited documentation.
FinbotsAI also joined forces with Fintech Galaxy to integrate its AI into the FINX Connect infrastructure, bringing inclusive credit solutions to the MENA region with more transparent and flexible criteria.
These cases reflect an irreversible shift: financial data is no longer just a static record. It has become a driver of inclusion, intelligence, and personalization. Since the first edition of FinOpen, I’ve been trying to show that Open Finance is no longer just a regulatory agenda. Above all, it has become an infrastructure capable of unlocking new levers to expand credit and access to financial services. The countries that manage to activate this potential while balancing responsibility and innovation will lead the way into a new financial era.
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Until the next!
Walter Pereira
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are solely the responsibility of the author, Walter Pereira, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors, partners, or clients of W Fintechs.
https://finsidersbrasil-com-br.webpkgcache.com/doc/-/s/finsidersbrasil.com.br/economia-open/open-finance-gera-r-18-bi-em-operacoes-de-credito-aponta-bc/