The Consumer Data Rights (CDR), released in July 2020 are all about sharing information with the right institutions such as banks and financial institutions. The ability to move around the financial landscape has always come up against security and information challenges, often to the detriment of better choices for your money and your lifestyle. Having the flexibility to control all or parts of your personal data enables you to share that data with accredited providers to speed up processes, transfers, previous operational challenges and continually monitor all of those transactions.
Responsible for implementing the CDR system sits with the ACCC and they have the final word on accrediting providers, enforcing policy and maintaining privacy protection. Providers must adhere to strict policy guidelines, privacy safeguards and have IT system requirements to ensure your privacy is maintained at the highest level. It made sense to have the initial roll out of CDR within the banking system, with the ‘Big Four’ banks already sharing product reference data since July 2019.
From July 2020, these banks were required to allow consumers to share their banking data, such as deposit accounts, credit and debit cards and transaction accounts, with other information made available from November 2020. From mid 2021 other institutions, including the energy sector will join the CDR scheme and begin to share consumer data.
For the consumer, the transparency provided by the CDR scheme should open up opportunities to change and challenge their financial institutions and other providers into supplying better solutions. Human nature being what it is, the tendency to change has an adverse effect, especially when it comes to banking and financial institutions. They have often made the choice to change providers difficult by the maze of information provided, which was often designed to furnish just enough uncertainty to keep you present within their system and often overpaying for services.
The CDR provides consumers the ability to change quickly because they have all the relevant facts in front of them, so bewildering choice and uncertainty should no longer be the barrier it once was. The CDR will be available to consumers 18 years and older and additional information can be found on their website - https://www.cdr.gov.au