Ezechi Britton Appointed Independent Chair to Lead Design of UK Open Banking ‘Future Entity’

Ezechi “Ez” Britton has been named independent chair of the steering group designing the UK’s new open banking standard setter.

The new body, still provisionally referred to in regulatory framework updates as the Future Entity, will take on core standard-setting, performance monitoring, directory, and certification functions currently managed by Open Banking Limited (OBL). Operating as a dedicated, non-profit organisation under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) oversight, it is being established to maintain open banking APIs, drive commercial open banking models, and lay the technical foundations for wider open finance capabilities.

Moving Beyond the CMA9 Framework

The establishment of the Future Entity represents a fundamental structural transition for UK open banking.

The original open banking framework was created in response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) 2017 retail banking market investigation order. That order mandated the UK’s nine largest current account providers (the CMA9) to build secure, standardised APIs allowing authorised third-party providers to access customer data and initiate payments with explicit consent. To execute this directive, the Open Banking Implementation Entity, later renamed Open Banking Limited, was created.

While this regime established the UK as an early benchmark for open banking adoption, the original CMA mandate was legally limited to the major retail banks and focused primarily on basic payment and account data. Data shows that open banking adoption in the UK has reached over 11 million active monthly users, demonstrating that the market has outgrown its original enforcement framework.

To address long-term governance, funding sustainability, and operational expansion, secondary legislation under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 transfers long-term oversight to the FCA. This statutory framework equips the regulator with explicit powers to supervise the permanent, industry-funded Future Entity as it assumes OBL’s legacy roles.

Designing the New Regime

OBL is currently acting as a neutral coordinator for the design process, convening a coalition of over 30 banks, fintechs, and payment service providers. The working group is tasked with delivering a comprehensive blueprint covering the Future Entity’s operational scope, governance structure, technical capabilities, and funding mechanism.

As chair of the Future Entity Design Steering Group, Britton will oversee key decisions during this transitional phase. Britton brings extensive financial technology leadership to the steering group. He was previously the founding CEO of the government-backed Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), launched following the Kalifa Review of UK Fintech. Prior to stepping down from CFIT, he co-founded the venture builder Collectively Better, served as co-founder of fintech Neyber, and spent years as a software engineer and venture capitalist. He was awarded an MBE in 2022 for services to diversity and young people.

Expanding VRPs and Open Finance

The strategic pivot to the Future Entity arrives as the market pushes past static data sharing toward real-time account-to-account (A2A) infrastructure.

A central focus of the new standards framework is scaling Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs). While first-generation “sweeping” VRPs allowed automated money transfers between a customer’s own accounts, commercial VRPs (cVRP) extend this rail to recurring bill payments, utility subscriptions, and e-commerce checkouts. In utility billing, cVRP allows direct debiting based on exact monthly meter readings rather than fixed estimates, protecting consumer liquidity while removing card network Interchange fees for billers.

By establishing standardised interface rules and technical uptime benchmarks, the Future Entity aims to provide regulatory clarity, accelerate cVRP adoption, and serve as the structural backbone for expanding data sharing into broader open finance verticals, including pensions, insurance, and wealth management.

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