Revolutionising Financial Well-Being through Open Data Technology
- Written by Kris Davant HEAD OF PRODUCT at Frollo
In today's open data world, banks, lenders, brokers, and financial advisers want innovative solutions to improve their clients' financial well-being, while at the same time driving customer engagement and process efficiency. Frollo, an industry leader in Open Banking, addresses this need by developing tools that reduce debt, increase savings, and secure better financial deals for individuals.
Kris Davant, Head of Product at Frollo, explains the company’s approach: “We build technology for other businesses that they use to help their customers, build stronger relationships and increase customer loyalty. From providing their customers with the full picture of their finances and helping them with personalised financial insights to tools for budgeting and achieving their financial goals.
Our specialty lies in building impactful tools that seamlessly integrate into our clients’ customer experience. When a company uses our technology in their app, the end-user is typically unaware of our involvement. We operate behind the scenes, empowering the tools that help them improve their financial well-being.”
Frollo’s clients range from banks and lenders to mortgage brokers and financial advisers. Recently Frollo announced partnerships with financial advice network AMP Advice, mortgage broker aggregator Finsure and mutual bank BCU.
According to Kris, Frollo's focus on financial well-being extends beyond money management: “We also use open banking data to solve the problem of manual bank statements and payslips as part of the onboarding process for mortgage brokers, financial advisers and lenders. Our Financial Passport makes it easy for consumers to securely share their financial profile with a trusted party and have control over the data they share. This is a massive time saver for both the consumer and our client, and makes the whole process much more seamless. Additionally, the Financial Passport gives consumers the same comprehensive view of their financial profile as their broker, adviser, or lender. This transparency enables them to better understand how they are perceived and empowers them to take control of their financial future.”
Open Banking plays a central role in Frollo’s offerings. As the first fintech company to launch under the government-regulated data-sharing regime in 2021, Frollo is widely recognised as a pioneer in this space. Kris Davant explains: “We firmly believe that users should own their own data and be able to share it in a secure and regulated way with Accredited Data Recipients (ADRs). That's why we jumped on the opportunity to help build and test Open Banking as part of the ACCC Open Banking trials in 2020. We knew this was going to be the way Australians could take control of their financial data, and we wanted to build our financial well-being tools on top of it.”
The government has been clear about Open Banking’s objectives: driving competition, fostering innovation, and ultimately securing better financial outcomes for consumers. These goals align closely with Frollo’s mission. Kris states: “At the core of our business, we believe that Open Banking is the future of finance. It's about empowering consumers and businesses with access to their financial data so they can make better financial decisions. We're passionate about using Open Banking data to create innovative solutions that make people's lives easier and more financially secure.”
Over the past year, data security and privacy have gained significant attention following high-profile breaches at companies like Optus and Medibank. Although Open Banking is a much more secure way of sharing financial data than traditional alternatives like screen-scraping, when you’re trusted with financial information your ultimate focus has to be on protecting that data, says Kris Davant: “One of the things that sets us apart from other fintech companies is our focus on compliance and security. We understand that people's financial data is some of the most sensitive information they have, and we take our responsibility to protect that data very seriously. That's why we adhere to the highest standards of data privacy and security, fully complying with the Consumer Data Right (CDR) regime. We constantly monitor and update our systems to ensure their up-to-date security, providing our users with peace of mind about the safety of their data.”
Frollo, with over 50 employees and nearly half a million users on its platform, is rapidly growing and making a significant impact on the financial well-being of Australians. But Kris Davant, head of product at Frollo, envisions an even brighter future: "As our business expands, we're thrilled by the possibilities ahead. We're continuously exploring new applications for open banking data and developing new products and features to help our users reach their financial goals. We're also expanding our client base to include more banks, mutuals, and fintech companies, as well as other businesses that can benefit from our technology. Our ultimate goal is to make financial well-being accessible to everyone, and we believe that with the power of Open Banking data, we can make that a reality. For us, financial well-being is about more than just saving money or reducing debt. It's about empowering people with the tools they need to make informed financial decisions and achieve their financial goals.
Kris Davant is the Head of Product at Frollo.
