When Open Banking was first introduced, there was understandable skepticism. Why should banks make it easier for customers to share their financial data? Can organizations that have fought against each other for decades really work together in a way that benefits everyone?
The answer, as we have seen in recent years, is that it is possible. Banks still compete fiercely for customers, products and market share, but they do so within a framework that allows data to be exchanged securely and efficiently between participants.
Rather than weakening competition, Open Banking has moved to where competition takes place. Companies now differentiate themselves through better products, stronger services and customer experience, while common standards help the broader financial system function more effectively.
The homebuying market may now be approaching a similar turning point.
The government’s latest reform to home buying and selling sets out an ambitious vision for a faster home buying process with greater transparency, improved visibility of transaction status and broader adoption of digital technologies. Earlier access to proprietary information, electronic identity verification and better use of digital processes should all help reduce delays and increase certainty.
However, as Open Banking has shown, meaningful change depends on more than just new technology or regulation. It requires a commitment from the entire sector to improve the way participants work together.
That is no small challenge. A typical property transaction involves lenders, brokers, conveyancers, brokers, surveyors, valuers and local authorities, each responsible for a different stage whilst operating within separate systems. Although each participant can fulfill their own role well, the mutual transfers often cause unnecessary delays, duplication of efforts and avoidable frustration. They experience one transaction and evaluate it accordingly, worrying far less about who owns the next action than about whether progress is being made.
This is where the comparison with Open Banking becomes particularly relevant. The comparison is not exact: Open Banking developed within a relatively clear regulatory and technical framework, while home buying involves a broader mix of regulated and unregulated participants, data owners and public bodies.
Open Banking’s success came from agreement on how information should move between participants, helping businesses stay competitive and removing unnecessary friction in the customer journey. It also showed that consumer confidence develops through practical experience and not just through technology.
Early concerns focused on trust, data privacy and whether there was any real benefit, but today millions of people use Open Banking because it delivers tangible improvements, from faster payments to easier affordability checks and mortgage applications. The technology itself has become almost invisible.
Buying a home has the potential to follow a similar path. Buyers are unlikely to embrace digital tools simply because they exist, but they will appreciate fewer delays, less duplication and more certainty. To achieve these results, companies that have traditionally operated independently will inevitably have to work more closely together.
That may not always be commercially simple, but reducing friction between participants is much more likely to improve the customer experience than simply making each individual business more efficient.
The period between the mortgage offer and completion shows why this matters. While significant investment has significantly improved the front end of the mortgage journey, much of the subsequent activity still relies on emails, manual administration and disconnected processes. Professionals spend too much time chasing updates, responding to queries, and coordinating activities rather than executing transactions, creating unnecessary costs for businesses and uncertainty for consumers.
The next opportunity therefore lies in structured digital workflows that allow tasks, decisions and responsibilities to be passed between participants more efficiently. In practice, this could mean that verified property information, open queries, and next actions are sent securely between agents, lenders, and carriers without being repeatedly rekeyed or chased.
Rather than introducing another standalone platform, the focus should be on reducing duplication, improving coordination, and giving each party more confidence that a transaction is proceeding properly. This allows each organization to focus on the expertise and service that sets it apart, rather than the administration that too often slows down the process.
Perhaps the biggest lesson of Open Banking is that collaboration and competition are not opposites. Companies can continue to compete on products, service and expertise, while working together operationally to remove friction in the customer journey.
If the homebuying industry can build that common ground, businesses will retain the freedom to differentiate through expertise and service, while consumers get a transaction that feels like one connected journey rather than a series of disconnected transfers.
Andrew Vaughan is head of client management at e4 Strategic