“Home Alone 2” and the monetization of Open Finance
If the article Home Alone, published here last year, illustrated how EPOC — the forwarding of credit proposals — had been forgotten in Open Finance, this second article in the series looks at another part of Open Finance that boarded the wrong flight: monetization.
Monetization has been in the script from the beginning, since Joint Resolution No. 1 of 2020. Article 36 allows institutions to enter into partnership agreements, including revenue sharing and enabling new business models. Article 42 addresses reimbursement of expenses incurred by transmitting institutions. In other words, those sharing data should not bear that cost alone.
But just as little Kevin found himself wandering the streets of Manhattan unsupervised, Open Finance monetization has been left to fend for itself.
In practice, only Payment Initiation Service Providers (ITPs) have explored the partnership route provided by regulation. They created their portals and experiences and already demonstrate that Article 36 offers a viable business model, accounting for a large volume of consents.
Meanwhile, other institutions continue ignoring this possibility. Any participant, including traditional banks, could structure an ecosystem of monetized partnerships, either by creating its own portal or joining a collective initiative. Yet for some reason, they prefer to ignore this part of the resolution.
As for expense reimbursement, the rule establishes that institutions receiving data must reimburse those sharing it, taking into account call volumes and operating costs. The problem? Implementation was left to the market through the Convention, and the model has still not been defined.
Kevin has his father’s credit card, but no one is checking the bill at the end of the month.
Open Finance is not lost, but monetization seems forgotten amid other demands, some institutions implementing only the “mandatory” parts of regulation, and complaints about high costs without returns.
Just as Kevin reunites with his family and turns his adventure into a happy ending, Open Finance must meet monetization soon. It is all there in the original script.
It is difficult to understand why this reunion has not happened yet. Creating partnership models and premium APIs was expected, and exists in other countries. It is a chance to turn cost into investment, obligation into product and integration into a valuable experience. Even so, most institutions continue doing only the basics, as if in survival mode.
Perhaps coordination is missing, perhaps business vision, perhaps it is simply cultural resistance. But the fact is that monetizing data could open a new frontier of innovation: new journeys, new services and new revenue for those who have already invested in infrastructure.
Just as Kevin turns New York into his playground, the market needs to do the same with Open Finance. Institutions already have APIs, consents and the regulatory script; what is missing is action to turn cost into investment and obligation into opportunity.
In the film, the family reunion happens only after plenty of action. Here is another invitation to create partnership portals, define the reimbursement model and launch premium APIs: a movement of experimentation that could finally bring Open Finance and monetization together.
Open Finance specialist and co-founder of fintech PilotIn.
📌 Originally published in Finsiders Brasil