Legislation – Data (Use and Access) Act 2025

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Part 1Access to customer data and business data

Financial services sector

14The FCA and financial services interfaces

(1)

The Treasury may by regulations make provision enabling or requiring the Financial Conduct Authority (referred to in this Part as “the FCA”) to make rules—

(a)

requiring financial services providers described in the regulations to use a prescribed interface, comply with prescribed interface standards or participate in prescribed interface arrangements, when providing or receiving customer data or business data which is required to be provided by or to the financial services provider by data regulations;

(b)

requiring persons described in the regulations to use a prescribed interface, comply with prescribed interface standards or participate in prescribed interface arrangements, when the person, in the course of a business, receives, from a financial services provider, customer data or business data which is required to be provided to the person by data regulations;

(c)

requiring section 2(4) actors described in the regulations to use a prescribed interface, comply with prescribed interface standards or participate in prescribed interface arrangements when taking, facilitating or doing other things in connection with relevant financial services action;

(d)

imposing interface-related requirements on a description of person falling within subsection (3).

(2)

Such rules are referred to in this Part as “FCA interface rules”.

(3)

The following persons fall within this subsection—

(a)

an interface body linked to the financial services sector;

(b)

a person required by regulations made in reliance on section 7 to set up an interface body linked to the financial services sector;

(c)

a person who uses an interface, complies with interface standards or participates in interface arrangements linked to the financial services sector or who is required to do so by data regulations or rules made by virtue of regulations under subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c).

(4)

For the purposes of this section, requirements are interface-related if they relate to—

(a)

the composition, governance or activities of an interface body linked to the financial services sector,

(b)

an interface, interface standards or interface arrangements linked to the financial services sector, or

(c)

the use of such an interface, compliance with such interface standards or participation in such interface arrangements.

(5)

For the purposes of this section—

(a)

an interface body is linked to the financial services sector to the extent that its interface, interface standards or interface arrangements are linked to the financial services sector;

(b)

interfaces, interface standards and interface arrangements are linked to the financial services sector to the extent that they are used, or intended to be used, by financial services providers (whether or not they are used, or intended to be used, by other persons).

(6)

The Treasury may by regulations make provision enabling or requiring the FCA to impose requirements on a person to whom FCA interface rules apply (referred to in this Part as “FCA additional requirements”) where the FCA considers it appropriate to impose the requirement—

(a)

in response to a failure, or likely failure, by the person to comply with an FCA interface rule or FCA additional requirement, or

(b)

in order to advance a purpose which the FCA is required to advance when exercising functions conferred by regulations under this section (see section 15(3)(a)).

(7)

Regulations under subsection (6) may, for example, provide for the FCA to impose requirements by giving a notice or direction.

(8)

The restrictions in section 9 apply in connection with FCA interface rules and FCA additional requirements as they apply in connection with regulations under this Part.

(9)

In section 9 as so applied—

(a)

the references in subsections (1)(b) and (8) to an enforcer include the FCA, and

(b)

the references in subsections (3) and (4) to regulations made under this Part include FCA interface rules and FCA additional requirements.

(10)

In this section—

“financial services provider” means a person providing financial services;

“prescribed” means prescribed in FCA interface rules;

“relevant financial services action” means action described in section 2(4) taken in relation to services or digital content provided or supplied by a financial services provider;

“section 2(4) actor” means—

(a)

a person who, in reliance on regulations under subsection (4) of section 2, takes action described in that subsection;

(b)

a data holder or other person who facilitates or does other things in connection with such action.