ACCC's CDR sandbox to ease pressure on banks, vendors

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will release a consumer data right sandbox to help core banking system vendors and banks test if their systems meet open banking standards.

The ACCC announced the new consumer data right (CDR) sandbox in its latest newsletter, stating the sandbox will assist participants to stand up and test the readiness of their systems for open banking.

iTnews reported last month that nearly one in three smaller banks missed open banking compliance deadlines because either they or their core banking vendors did not have the resources available to make the necessary system changes.

“Should a core banking platform provider utilise these solutions, our expectation is that it will assist with their software development lifecycle which may shorten delivery lead times whilst also promoting higher quality outcomes,” an ACCC spokesperson told iTnews.

"The intended outcome is to provide support to participants earlier in their software development lifecycle to assist with their entry into the CDR.

“These solutions also provide insights and support to businesses interested in joining the CDR.

"We anticipate that the number of participants using the sandbox will grow as the CDR expands into additional [industry] sectors.”

The CDR sandbox will be free to use and will allow participants to utilise their own test data to trial against a mock solution created by the ACCC, or to network directly with other participants to exchange test data.

The sandbox will also come with a management portal to assist participants with the integration and management of their own solutions within the sandbox environment.

The CDR sandbox is “tentatively scheduled for release in Q2 2022” with further details to be announced closer to the date.