Exclusive:
Brits will be able to financial make data open to price comparison firms, so they can tailor deals to individual customers and their spending habits, instead of filling out lengthy and complicated online forms
Brits will be able to slash their energy bills more quickly and easily after a change in the law this year.
Under new rules, consumers will be able to make data about their finances available to companies offering price comparison services, so they can use it to tailor to individual customers and their spending habits, instead of filling out lengthy and complicated online forms.
It’s an extension of the “direct banking” system, which allows firms limited access to information within customers’ bank accounts to make credit checks and payments easier.
Tech Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Between the school run, looking after ageing parents, doctors’ appointments, household chores, and the small matter of a full-time job, most of us simply don’t have the time to sift through every line and column of our spending to ferret out where we could be saving.
“But through this Government’s plans to put data to work for ordinary people, you’ll be able to do just that at the touch of a button on an app.
“That’s how we will help people help themselves: so they can cut their bills, make the most of their savings, and keep more of their hard-earned cash at the end of the day.”
The measures will be included in the Data Bill, which enters its committee stage in Parliament next week.
Ministers are expected to set out more plans for ‘smart data’ schemes in other parts of the economy to help consumers save cash.
Mr Kyle added: “If 14 years under previous governments have shown us anything, it is that the old ways aren’t working. We have to be smarter, and we have to think differently, to chart a brighter course for the UK.
“Harnessing the power of technology is critical to this – and within that, Britain’s vast repositories of data are a well just waiting to be tapped.”
