In Q3 2021, there were 28 new third-party providers (TPPs) approved to provide open banking services in the EEA and UK. During the same period, there were 7 TPPs whose licence was withdrawn: Netherlands (3) and the UK (4). This means the total number of TPPs at the end of September was 518 – an overall increase of 21 (4.2%).
Passporting numbers increased more rapidly than last quarter. On average, each country in the EEA gained 9 more passported TPPs compared with 5 last quarter. More than half of all EEA TPPs can passport their services outside their home nation (53%). Out of those passporting abroad, the majority (63%) selectively choose which countries to passport into.
Q3 Highlights
The EEA now has over 300 TPPs authorised to provide services (302).
There was a net gain of 21 TPPs in Q3, despite 28 new TPPs being approved to provide services (EEA + UK).
Each country has at least 55 TPPs approved to provide open banking services, up from 47 at the end of Q2. But the gap is widening as the more advanced countries power ahead. The mean average is 95, while the median is 86.
Poland has, for the third time running, seen the largest increase in the EEA this quarter with 3 new Home registered TPPs, taking its total to 23.
Spain has seen the largest increase in passporting numbers, with 11 more TPPs approved to provide services into the country. In addition to one new home TPP, this takes Spain’s total from 93 to 105.
The number of countries with over 100 TPPs (Home and Passported or registered under TPR) has doubled since the last quarter to 10 countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
12 countries had a net increase in Home TPPs this quarter: Austria (1), France (2), Greece (1), Hungary (1), Ireland (1), Italy (2), Lithuania (2), Luxembourg (1), Norway (2), Poland (3), Slovakia (1), Spain (1), UK (6).
The UK gained 10 new Home TPPs and lost 4, the Netherlands lost 3.
43 TPPs from the EEA can operate in the UK under the FCA’s Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR); this is two less than last quarter.
There has been a significant increase (16) in the number of TPPs which are authorised to provide AISP and PISP services. The number of sole AISPs and sole PISPs has increased, but most new TPPs have chosen to register for both services.
There has been no significant change in the type of institutions registering to operate as TPPs – electronic money institutions (EMIs) still make up roughly 14% of all TPPs.
Note: These figures do not include Credit Institutions acting as TPPs.
Forecast for Q4
TPP Growth
TPP growth over the last year has tracked steadily at approximately 5%. We anticipate that there will be 540 TPPs by the end of December 2021.
Due to passporting rights, by the end of next quarter all countries should have at least 59 TPPs who can provide services. We predict that the average number of TPPs operating in each country will hit over 100, at 102.
There are currently 10 countries with over 100 TPPs (Home + passported). By the end of the next quarter, Denmark and Lithuania should also have over 100 TPPs, bringing the total number of countries up to 12.
Monthly API calls (EEA and the UK)
We expect there will be a 19% increase in API calls over the next quarter. In the EEA, API volumes should surpass 920 million a month. The UK should also reach 1.08 billion monthly API transactions in Q4, bringing the total to over 2 billion.
At the end of December 2021, 17 countries should have over 10 million monthly open banking API calls, and 6 countries should have over 80 million. The minimum number of monthly API transactions in a country should rise to 10,000.
“While it is thought the UK is around two years ahead of the EEA in the rollout of open banking, it’s great to see other countries powering ahead and reaching important milestones. There are now over 300 pure-play TPPs in the EEA, and API calls in the region are rising rapidly. By the end of next quarter, there should be a total of 2 billion open banking API calls a month.
With these dramatic changes – as new TPPs enter the space and existing ones have their licences withdrawn, begin to passport into new countries or alter their statuses – banks must be vigilant of which TPPs are approved for what, where, to ensure they are protecting their customers’ data.”
Mike Woods, CEO Konsentus
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