For the first time, experts, leadership from Google, Mastercard and Microsoft and nearly two dozen other companies launched the International Data Transfer Expert Council as part of the U.K. government’s plan to unlock the benefits of free and secure data sharing. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the agency responsible for building the U.K.’s digital economy, announced the launch Tuesday (Jan. 25).
“Realizing the benefits of international data flows has never been more important,” Data Minister Julia Lopez said in a statement. “We want the U.K. to drive forward cutting-edge policies at home and overseas to ensure people, businesses and economies benefit from safe and secure data flows.”
The panel was formed to offer independent advice to the government intended to unlock the benefits of free and secure cross-border data flows. Such transfer of data is critical, the government argues, because it is the foundation for the most popular technologies such as GPS navigation, digital banking and smart devices. The government said it intends to strike deals on personal data transfers with its major trading partners worldwide.
The experts represent many sectors, including artificial intelligence, healthcare, scientific research and finance.
Despite a slow start in the U.K. and much of Europe, open banking is catching on. Progress will likely accelerate rather than slow down, Pinar Ozcan, professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Saïd Business School, Oxford University, told PYMNTS.
Read more: Open Banking’s Way Forward Involves More Data Sharing, Not Less
Ozcan, who also serves as academic director of the Oxford Future of Finance and Technology Initiative, said that while open banking struggled early on, the region is now embracing the concept. In simple terms, open banking is the process of financial institutions opening data for regulated providers to access, use and share.
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