Open banking, which requires stringent testing, was set up in 2016 by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and funded by the UK’s nine largest banks and building societies, Open Banking Ltd. It assists in the implementation of an Open Banking standard to enable customers to share their bank account information and conduct transactions securely with other certified third-party providers.

Each participant in the ecosystem must meet Open Banking Security Profile Conformance. This is maintained in a cloud-based conformance testing area leveraged by banks, certified third party security providers and platform vendors—such as Ping Identity. To certify conformance, each entity must run a series of tests on software, APIs and processes and follow the Conformance Certification Process to submit the results for validation.

“Conformance testing is a critical part of the push towards the adoption of Open Banking,” explained Phil Allen, vice president, EMEA for Ping Identity, “We’re delighted to see our leadership reinforced as the first ‘platform vendor’ to pass, without warnings, the mandated test and optional requirements set forth by the program. It’s a testament to the investment we’ve made in support of this project.”

The UK has been at the forefront in the push towards Open Banking, which was officially mandated from January 2018. This also includes efforts supporting PSD2-related initiatives. “Our solution has been designed with enough scope to easily meet the PSD2 guidelines. As the first Open Banking initiatives begin to launch over the next 12 months, the groundwork taking place in the UK will create a template for others around the world,” added Allen.