ACCC finalises Consumer Data Right rules

The ACCC has finalised the Consumer Data Right rules as they apply to the banking sector, paving the way for the introduction of mandatory data sharing obligations in banking from 1 July.

The new rules, which come into effect today, also legally require the four major banks to share product reference data with accredited recipients such as comparison site providers.

Product reference data includes information such as interest rates, fees and charges, and eligibility criteria for banking products like credit cards and mortgages.

The big four banks have already been sharing this data since July last year on a voluntary basis.

The mandatory obligations to be introduced this July will relate to consumer data on credit and debit cards, deposit accounts and transaction accounts.

From November, banks will also have to share consumer data relating to mortgage and personal loan data.

“Product reference data is vital for accredited data receiving businesses to provide comparison services and potentially offer better deals to consumers,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.

“Having the Consumer Data Right Rules in place means that from July this year, when consumers choose to direct their bank to share their data with another accredited data recipient, the banks must do so. The making of the Rules is a major milestone in delivering the Consumer Data Right in banking.”

The government plans to apply the Consumer Data Right to the banking sector first before considering expanding it to other sectors.

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