Building New Incentives for Data Holders

Fiskil CEO Jacob Parker joined Simon Burt (NGM Group), Chris Malcolm (P&N Group), and moderator Rebecca Schot‑Guppy (IAG Firemark Ventures) for a deep, candid discussion about the evolving role of data holders in the open data ecosystem.

While compliance has been the dominant focus for many institutions to date, the panel explored how the next phase of CDR must prioritise practical adoption, product opportunity, and smarter support, especially for regional banks, mutuals, and other resource-constrained players.

The current state: live, but limited

Many data holders have made significant progress in getting CDR-compliant. But for a majority, the return on that investment isn’t yet obvious: customer uptake remains modest, and internal teams are often tied up responding to frequent regulatory updates rather than building consumer-facing innovation.

This isn’t a failure, it’s a natural part of any early-stage ecosystem. But it does raise an important question - what would it look like to help data holders do more than just meet the minimum?

Reframing the role of data holders

The panel surfaced several ideas for how smaller institutions can begin to capture more value from the CDR:

• Shift the mindset from compliance to capability. Treating CDR infrastructure as a strategic asset (or forming part of a strategic pillar in the organisation) - one that enables partnerships, richer data insights, and new product opportunities - can reframe its potential internally.

• Invest in developer experience. The institutions that will benefit most from CDR are those that make it easy for others to build on their data. A clean, well-documented API can be the difference between passive compliance and active integration.

• Use open data to differentiate. Mutuals and regional banks have a unique opportunity to compete on transparency, trust, and innovation. Open data can power more personalised offerings, smarter lending decisions, or tools for financial wellbeing.

• Partner where it makes sense. Smaller institutions don’t need to do it all in-house. Working with infrastructure providers (like Fiskil) can accelerate time to value while significantly reducing build and maintenance costs.

Looking forward

One thing the panel agreed on: the CDR is not just a regulatory obligation, it is a platform for future growth. But to unlock that growth, we need to ensure data holders have the right incentives, support, and technical frameworks to participate meaningfully.

At Fiskil, we’re committed to making that possible. Our managed CDR infrastructure reduces the compliance load while giving institutions a modern foundation to build, partner, and grow with confidence and control.

We were proud to sponsor the CDR Summit and grateful to FinTech Australia for hosting such an important and energising event. Conversations like these move the ecosystem forward, and we’re excited to be part of what comes next.