Image: Elliott Brown Image: Elliott Brown

2018 will be the year of regulation – GDPR will rip up how we deal with data, MiFID II is designed to protect investors and create greater transparency in financial trading, and PSD2 is designed to create a new open way of banking.

For the majority of businesses, especially compliance and HR departments, the one to watch is GDPR – carrying as it does potential fines worth 4 per cent of a company’s turnover.

MiFID II and PSD2 will be big too, but their impact will be in more specialist areas – GDPR affects all companies that have data on their customers, the other two regulations will only directly affect the firms in the sectors that the regulations relate to. MiFID II, for example is a big deal for investment banks and brokers, PSD2 is Important for banks and Fintech firms.

But the impact on consumers, in each case, will be dramatic.

Now HSBC has revealed it is preparing a new app that will enable its customers to aggregate their financial information, provided by other banks. The app is made possible by PSD2.

You will only have to log in the once, and have all your information, seamlessly integrated. At least that is the idea, the reality may not quite live up to the billing for some time. In fact the HSBC app will enable customers to see their current account from up to 21 banks .

For some banks, PSD2 may prove to be catastrophic, but it is an opportunity for those who embrace it. After-all, the real winner is meant to be the consumer, and what’s good for the consumer is good for the supplier – right?

But PSD2 is a massive opportunity for Fintech operators such as challenger banks, the likes of Monzo Bank, for example.

HSBC’s head of banking and advance, Becky Moffat said: “It is our job to understand our customers.” How very digital, a turkey might say, “we need to embrace Christmas, and diversify into the bread sauce business.”

GDPR Summit London is a dedicated event which will help businesses to prepare to meet the requirements of the GDPR ahead of May 2018 and beyond.

Further information and conference details are available at http://www.gdprsummit.london/