Nuapay released new data revealing that 1 in 4 (25%) merchants predict open banking will become the most popular payment method amongst customers in the next 5 years. The survey of payments decision makers highlights the growing confidence in open banking as a payment method and marks a significant step forward towards general adoption of the technology. When quizzed about which payment method would present the most opportunities for their organisation over the next 3 years, respondents said open banking was the top choice (36%), followed by digital wallets (35%) and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) (26%).

43% of respondents said they have yet to realise the full benefits of open banking within their organisation, with 26% saying that although they had realised benefits, there were still opportunities to explore. Almost 1 in 5 (19%) said they had only achieved a small percentage of what is possible. Respondents thought that the most significant benefits of open banking for organizations were more straightforward reconciliation (33%), improved payer user experience (31%), consolidated reporting (31%) and improved access to loans (30%).

For consumers, greater control (41%) was the number one benefit, followed by improved customer experience/convenience (37%) and the reduction in fraud risk (34%). When questioned about how their customers respond to new payments technology, respondents were almost evenly split, with 49% believing there was interest from the start and 48% adding that their customers were distrustful at first, requiring extensive education before beginning to use new methods. Gaming and gambling companies had the most distrustful customers (63%), with the reverse true for healthcare and retail, catering and leisure companies, of which 52% said that there was heightened interest from the beginning.