This week in data – 17 January:

Each week, we compile the best stories in data. Get up to speed on this week in data, without having to search for it.

Australian banks and fintechs unite…

Well, they weren’t exactly fighting before, but collaboration is always heart-warming. The problem? Data regulation is fragmented, and everyone just wants a standard set of rules. FinTech Australia has told a Senate Inquiry that the economy depends on it, pointing out that stewardship of Australia’s digital future is spread across four agencies. With Open Banking on the horizon, now’s the time to tighten things up.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“The fintech start-up industry is also critical of multiple regulators for the payments industry and says the Reserve Bank of Australia’s review this year of payments system regulation needs to go further to ensure Australia remains competitive as global technology companies enter the space.”

India hands data control to its citizens

Over in India, with more than 500 million internet users citizens are generating huge amounts of information. Now, the country’s banks are rolling out a system that will allow customers to get access to their financial data and instantly share it. Sound familiar, Australia? India is using third parties to manage the system, and it’s all controlled by the user. Sounds pretty great.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“The new system will help lenders serve millions of small Indian companies that need to borrow an estimated 1.5 trillion rupees ($21 billion) a month, said BG Mahesh, co-founder of Sahamati, a non-profit collective of account aggregators.”

Dating apps are sharing your information

Of all the information to be shared…  this isn’t ideal. A report from the Norwegian Consumer Council found that 10 dating apps share information including location, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and more. Over 100 third party companies received the data. Not only does this violate European rules, but the rest of the world is up in arms too.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“In its letter sent Tuesday to the California attorney general, the ACLU of California argues that the practice described in the Norwegian report may violate the state’s new data privacy law, in addition to constituting possible unfair and deceptive practices, which is unlawful in California.”

Turns out, we need a new data mindset

The World Economic Forum is putting the hammer down: they say it’s time we have new controls and protections for how data is stored and shared. We couldn’t agree more. Among their suggestions? Put users in control, encourage sharing, and create frameworks to allow both those things to happen safely. 

THE TAKEAWAY:

“Global standards for data rights and obligations could be embedded in the very fabric of the internet through rules and protocols around data exchange.”

Australian energy companies feeling left out

Aussie utilities want a slice of the Consumer Data Right pie. They’ve asked a new Select Committee in Parliament to make sure that when the changes come their way, they aren’t treated the same as finance companies. And why? Well, they want to avoid any unintended consequences. Smart, considering the CDR was considered by some to be initially rushed and is now delayed.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“On expanding the CDR to cover other areas of finance not mandated in the first instance, the Energy Council emphasised its view that any expansion of the CDR to other related financial sectors, such as superannuation, should be gradual to “avoid rushing the phased implementation of CDR into energy and telecommunications”.”

That’s our wrap for this week. Thanks for reading – we hope you found it entertaining and informative. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these articles and anything else data related!

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