What Is Open Banking Under the CDR?
Open banking in Australia operates under the Consumer Data Right (CDR), a government framework that gives consumers and businesses the right to share their banking data with accredited third parties. Data is exchanged through secure APIs, and sharing only occurs with the account holder's explicit consent. The CDR is administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
How the CDR Works
Accredited data recipients — which may include fintechs, accounting platforms, and other approved providers — can request access to a customer's banking data through standardised APIs. The account holder controls what is shared, with whom, and for how long.
Before participating in the system, data recipients must be vetted and accredited by the ACCC. Accreditation requires meeting defined security, privacy, and operational standards. The ACCC maintains a public register of accredited data recipients, allowing businesses to verify who they are sharing data with.
Relevance to Small Business Accounting
CDR-enabled open banking has practical implications for day-to-day financial management:
- Transaction data access. Accounting tools that are accredited data recipients, or that connect through them, can retrieve bank transaction data directly rather than relying on manual CSV imports or screen-scraping.
- Cash flow visibility. Direct access to transaction feeds provides a more current picture of account balances, incoming payments, and outgoing expenses.
- Reduced manual entry. Automated data feeds lower the risk of transcription errors and reduce time spent on data entry.
SAE Books connects to CDR-compliant bank feeds, allowing transaction data to flow into the ledger without manual intervention.
Security and Privacy
The CDR framework imposes obligations on both data holders (banks) and accredited data recipients. Both parties must comply with the CDR Privacy Safeguards, which operate alongside the Australian Privacy Act. Data can only be used for the purposes the consumer has consented to, and consent can be withdrawn at any time.
Scope and Expansion
The CDR began in the banking sector and is being extended to other industries, including energy and telecommunications. Within banking, the rollout has progressed from the major banks to a broader set of authorised deposit-taking institutions. The ACCC and the Data Standards Body publish current participation and timeline information at cdr.gov.au and accc.gov.au/cdr.