In October the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it’s running a test programme to bring “open finance” into mortgages.
In plain English: with your permission, lenders could pull the info they need straight from your bank or budgeting apps, instead of asking you to email piles of PDFs.
First, What is “Open Finance”?
It’s an extension of open banking. You stay in control, but you can choose to share your financial data securely with approved providers for a specific task – like getting a mortgage or switching deals. No one sees anything unless you say yes, and you can revoke access. The FCA’s tests are about making this work safely for mortgages.
What the FCA is Testing
From November 2025 to February 2026, the FCA is running “TechSprints” (think supervised trials) focused on two big goals:
- Make applying and remortgaging simpler. That includes smoother affordability checks, counting things like regular rent payments and saving habits, and showing real-time product options.
- Make overpaying easier. Clearer information and in-app journeys so it’s simple to chip away at your balance when you can.
What This Could Mean for you in 2026
- Fewer documents to chase – rather than hunting for six months of bank statements, payslips and screenshots, you could give one-time permission for a secure data pull. Your income, bills and regular spending would be verified automatically. That means fewer back and- forth emails and less chance of something going missing.
- Faster “Can I afford it?” answers – because the same data can feed affordability and eligibility at once, you should get a clearer yes/no sooner – and a better sense of which deals you actually qualify for before you commit to a full application.
- Smarter timing on remortgages – The FCA’s test includes “smart prompts” before a fixed rate ends. In practice, you might get a nudge a few months out with your key info already filled, a live view of what you can afford, and side-by-side options you could act on there and then.
- Overpayments made simple – plenty of people intend to overpay but rarely do. The trials look at showing the impact clearly – “pay £50 extra and save £X interest” – and letting you action it from the same screen, using the data you’ve already shared.
- What Won’t Change – Open finance doesn’t mean “computer says yes” and that’s it. Lenders will still make judgements, and tricky cases will still need human eyes. The tests are about fixing the admin, not removing checks that protect borrowers.
Likely Timeline
• Now to Feb 2026: The FCA-backed tests run and gather evidence.
• After that: Expect limited roll-outs and partner pilots first, then wider adoption as the FCA finalises its roadmap and firms build the features.
Your Questions Answered…
- Is my data safe? The whole point of the programme is to build clear, permission-based data sharing with proper safeguards. You choose what’s shared, with whom, and for how long – and you can switch it off.
- Will rent and savings habits help me? That’s part of the testing. If evidence of regular rent payments and consistent saving can be used cleanly, it could strengthen your case, especially for first-time buyers or people with thinner credit files.
- Do I still need to send anything? Sometimes, yes. The aim is “less paperwork,” not “no paperwork.” Think one consent step replacing multiple uploads, with a shorter to do list overall.
- Can this help me switch deals on time? That’s the idea behind the pre-expiry prompts and embedded switching journeys: a heads-up before your rate ends, plus a clear route to compare and act without starting from scratch.
Source Data: Mortgage Solutions
