WeMoney joins exclusive Mastercard program to unlock the potential of Open Banking in 2024

Australia’s leading social financial wellness platform WeMoney, is one of just four fintech companies globally, which has been handpicked to join Mastercard’s Start Path Open Banking Program.

Through the Start Path Open Banking program, which was launched in 2022, WeMoney will access a combination of co-innovation opportunities and engagement with Mastercard’s global network of banks, merchants, partners and digital players, helping to scale WeMoney by leveraging the open banking system in Australia.

Dan Jovevski (pictured right), Founder of WeMoney, which in 2022 was the first Australian fintech company to be accredited for Open Banking in Australia under Consumer Data Right (CDR), said he was excited to join the Mastercard Program.

“Mastercard has been an early and active advocate of open banking globally. We’re very much aligned with Mastercard’s vision for open banking to empower people, particularly those aged 18-40 yrs old, to use their own financial data to make informed decisions about their financial future and wellbeing,” he said.

However, Jovevski said there is more work to be done to refine the implementation of CDR to ensure the full potential of open banking is available to consumers, quickly and seamlessly.

“As one of the largest aggregators of CDR data in Australia in the direct-to-consumer segment, we’ve witnessed over 90% of new members opting to access their data through CDR. But the current CDR connection system is still complex most users and there remain data quality issues.  We’d like to see a simplified consent model process similar to the UK PSD2 scheme that includes amongst other things, a significantly reduced number of steps in the consumer consent process. This will lead to more consumers leveraging the CDR and lead to great positive financial outcomes, especially with current cost of living pressures,” Jovevski said.

Brenton Charnley (pictured left), Vice President & Head of Open Banking at Mastercard ANZ said WeMoney was the first Australian fintech selected for the Start Path Open Banking Program due to its strong commitment to putting consumers at the centre of where and how their financial data is used.

“As one of Australia’s fintech innovators in the open banking ecosystem, WeMoney has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to empowering young Australians to use their own financial data to make better financial choices and achieve their goals.

“At three and a half years old, the CDR is growing but still has some teething problems. There are however improvements on the way, with a number of industry consultations undertaken over 2023 set to be implemented over the course of 2024. We believe a unified approach from all players in the financial services system can unlock the true potential of open banking for Australian consumers,” Charnley said.