Just under a third of adults in the UK (30%) would be happy to sign over access to their financial data to trusted tech companies such as Apple, Google or third-party apps using such platforms, a study has revealed.

The research by the Prepaid International Forum (PIF), the not-for-profit trade body representing the prepaid financial services sector, relates to ‘open banking’ which started in the UK in January. The survey was of 1,000 demographically representative people from all over the kingdom.

The ‘open banking’ legislation allows customers to tell banks to share financial data to properly regulated third parties. This data is then provided in a secure way that does not reveal account passwords or access codes but does allow third parties to analyse spending habits and find better deals. The regulations force the nine largest UK banks to open up their data on a set of secure APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). The new rules coincide with the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), a new piece of EU legislation that enables third-party service providers to access a customer’s bank account and/or request information at his behest.

The PIF study shows that many people, especially youngsters, are happy to give companies permission to handle their data in exchange for financial benefits or a better understanding of how banks are managing their money. As many as 34% of the survey population who were 18-24 years old said thatt they would be happy to provide permission to a company, such as Apple, with slightly fewer (30%) saying that they would also trust Google with this data.

Even among customers over 65, just under a quarter (24%) said they would permit Apple to handle their data.

This is very good news for 'app' developers and other financial service providers that use e-money tools. PIF is looking forward to the day when open banking takes its place next to smart phones and search engines as an  essential tool for everyday life. Mobile devices already offer many payment services, often using the prepaid platform to facilitate transactions, so PIF expects many people to think of open banking as a small step in the right direction.

Many companies already offer technologically forward-thinking financial services on mobile phones; open banking is allowing them to extend these with further apps. PIF's favourite example is Curve, a piece of software that links every account that one HNW individual has to one smart card using prepaid tools, which is then managed through a smart phone app, allowing him to spend money from any of his accounts using a single card. It then creates a timeline that shows him where all his money is going, allowing him to track his spending instantly.