More data, more value

If you could analyse all my payments data you’d be pretty close to feeling like you know me without us ever having met. You’d know how I get to work, the supermarket I shop at, my coffee habits, subscriptions, right through to where I get my preferred Friday burger.

Convenience and benefits

Like many, I hardly ever carry cash meaning almost all my transactions as I go about my day create data that somebody captures. For me, this is about convenience but I can also quickly view and analyse my transactions on my banking app to see how I’m tracking against my budget.

What others can do with my payments data is where it becomes much more interesting. Whether it’s the transport authority analysing travel habits to make my commute easier, to my coffee shop improving their service and therefore their business by knowing the busiest times of the day and preferred products, payments data provides value for a range of stakeholders.

As our payments habits become increasingly digital, there’s more of this data than ever. It’s also more valuable than ever and there’s an increasing number of partnerships and products that use raw payments data to generate information, create insights and deliver a range of benefits.

The value of data – both public and private – is well recognised and this week, APCA lodged its submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Data Availability and Use.

Trust and data sharing

With trust as the cornerstone of current data sharing arrangements in place within the payments industry, the submission looks at how data sharing protects consumers, improves products and services and assists governments and regulators.

What’s important in these arrangements is the alignment of the core requirements of data sharing. These include consumer interests, security, privacy, commercial incentives, compliance and liability. Payments data has the potential to provide even greater value and by aligning these requirements, this value can continue to be realised.

We’ll drill down into some of these requirements in future posts.

Not everyone thinks about the payments data they generate as they go about their day. But in a future where more data sharing occurs, all of us will experience the value when this data is enriched and used. After all, you are benefiting from data sharing today, you probably just don’t realise.