Conceptualising a consumer data intelligence service in perspective of the European Union’s PSD2

In recent years the retail payments market has experienced significant technical advancement, with compelling growth in regard to development to new forms of payment and numerous payment services in the market place. In 2015, the European Commission (EC) introduced a new directive for payment services called PSD2, entering into force on 13 January 2018, to reduce barriers of entry and integrating retail payments across the European Union (EU). By granting third party non-financial institutions access to consumers’ financial data, the EC is opening the financial services industry and levelling the playing field. This allows for a strong drive for innovation in the sector and for start-ups to offer new services to compete with the traditional banks. Consumer knowledge gained by the analysis of financial data becomes a strategic asset and allow businesses to connect with customers in new ways. New data intelligence services emerge in the financial technology industry seeking to close the knowledge gap between the expectations of customer experiences and currently available bank offerings. Therefore, the work project identifies how to provide valuable customer intelligence to businesses in the financial payments industry with regard to PSD2. To examine the new and emerging opportunities, we conceptualise a Consumer Data Intelligence Service, including statistical analyses to predict potential consumer behaviour. The proposed Consumer Data Intelligence Service concept suggests that turning relevant customer data into valuable insights through data analytics will allow businesses to act on the new opportunities. “I would like to assert that data will be the basis of competitive advantage for any organisation that you run.” – Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM (7.03.2013, Council on foreign relations – Corporate Conference