The Future of Open Data in Australia: How Businesses Can Leverage Both Financial and Energy Data

Australia’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) has come a long way. What started with open banking—giving consumers control over their financial data—has now expanded into the energy sector. This means businesses can access both financial and energy data in a secure, regulated way, unlocking entirely new opportunities.

For fintechs, lenders, energy providers, and beyond, the real power of CDR lies in combining these two datasets to create smarter, more personalised services. So, how can businesses take advantage of this shift? Let’s explore.

The Power of Combining Financial and Energy Data

Historically, financial and energy industries operated in silos. Banks knew your income and spending habits, while energy retailers tracked your power usage. But what happens when businesses can access both datasets with consumer consent?

Here are a few possibilities:

• Better credit assessments – Understanding how someone spends their money is one thing. Seeing their energy consumption patterns can add another layer of insight into affordability and financial health.
• Smarter budgeting tools – Imagine an app that not only tracks income and expenses but also predicts your next energy bill and suggests ways to lower it.
• Automated cost savings – Businesses can build tools that dynamically switch consumers to better banking or energy plans based on real-time data.

In short, data-driven services are about to get a whole lot smarter.

Use Cases for Businesses: What’s Possible Now?

1. Fintechs & Lenders: More Accurate Risk Modelling

Traditional credit assessments rely on income, spending, and existing loans. But what if lenders could see energy consumption patterns as well?

• Lower-risk borrowers tend to have stable, predictable spending—something reflected in both financial and energy usage.
• Household efficiency could indicate financial responsibility, providing another data point for assessing loan applications.

Example: A non-bank lender could combine financial and energy data to offer tailored interest rates based on real consumption habits, making lending more accessible and fair.

2. Energy Providers: Smarter, More Dynamic Pricing

Energy retailers can now access real-time financial data, allowing them to:

• Offer flexible payment plans based on actual cash flow rather than fixed billing cycles.
• Identify customers who may be at risk of bill shock and provide proactive support.
• Create bundled financial products with banks and fintechs, offering automated bill payments or personalised energy-saving incentives.

Example: An energy provider partners with a digital bank to auto-adjust bill payments based on real-time income, reducing late fees and financial stress for customers.

3. Comparison & Switching Services: A New Era of Automation

The days of manually comparing banking or energy providers may soon be over. With both datasets open under CDR, businesses can build fully automated switching services that optimise both:

• Finding the best mortgage and the best energy provider for a new homeowner.
• Ensuring customers are always on the lowest-cost plans based on real-time usage.
• Seamlessly integrating open finance and open energy insights into consumer apps.

Example: A smart home assistant that automatically switches users to the best energy plan and recommends a high-interest savings account to help them manage utility costs.

Why This Matters: The Bigger Picture

CDR is about more than just compliance—it’s about shifting control of data back to the consumer while enabling businesses to innovate in ways we’ve never seen before.

For businesses, the key to staying ahead isn’t just accessing open data—it’s knowing how to combine it in meaningful ways.

• Fintechs that integrate energy data will provide deeper financial insights.
• Energy providers that leverage financial data will create smarter billing and payment solutions.
• Tech innovators that merge both will build the next generation of personalised, automated consumer experiences.

How Fiskil Helps Businesses Unlock the Power of Open Data

At Fiskil, we believe the future of finance and energy is interconnected. Our secure, CDR-compliant API solutions help businesses access and leverage both financial and energy data, so they can build smarter, seamless customer experiences.

Whether you're a fintech, lender, energy retailer, or tech company, we make it easy to integrate real-time CDR data into your services—without the complexity.

Want to explore what’s possible? Let’s talk.