Fintech 2026

FRANCE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Marie Frisch and Estelle Rigal-Alexandre, Soulier Bunch

to customer consent – thereby fostering innovation in financial services. However, the FIDA Regulation significantly expands the scope of PSD2 by covering a broader range of financial data, including savings accounts, credit products, insurance, investments and pensions, whereas PSD2 was limited solely to payment accounts. Secondly, the FIDA Regulation aligns with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by incorporating robust safeguards to protect users’ rights over their personal data. The FIDA Regulation is based on three fundamental principles: • explicit consent – users must provide clear and informed consent before their financial data may be shared with third parties; • data portability – enabling consumers and busi - nesses to transfer their financial data between financial service providers, thereby fostering com - petition and innovation; and • security and transparency – data exchanges must be secure, and users must be systematically informed about how their data is accessed and used. The FIDA Regulation aims first to stimulate innova - tion by enabling fintech companies and new entrants to access a broader range of financial data, allowing them to develop more personalised services, such as budgeting tools, investment advice, etc. It also seeks to strengthen competition between financial institu - tions by avoiding monopoly situations of traditional banks. Finally, the FIDA Regulation is intended to promote financial inclusion by facilitating access to financial services tailored to the needs of consumers and SMEs. The FIDA Regulation was proposed by the European Commission in June 2023 as part of the EU’s Open Finance package. Its final adoption is expected in 2026, with phased implementation across the mem - ber states. The Regulation applies to a broad range of entities, including credit institutions, insurance undertakings,

asset managers, and distributors of financial prod - ucts, fintech companies and start-ups leveraging financial data to provide value-added services, insur - ance undertakings and, more broadly, any financial data users authorised to act in the interest of their clients. These entities will be required to comply with new obligations, including making financial data available in real time and ensuring interoperability. The scope covered extends beyond payment accounts to include – in particular – savings accounts, loans and credits, insurance contracts, financial instruments, and trans - action histories and financial behaviours. Several European jurisdictions have already imple - mented comparable frameworks, providing useful reference models for the implementation of the FIDA Regulation. • The United Kingdom has played a pioneering role through its Open Banking Standard, launched in 2018. This framework paved the way for a wave of innovation, sparking the rise of account aggrega - tors and personal financial management tools. • Germany has supported initiatives such as the Ber - lin Group, which has established technical stand - ards for financial data sharing across Europe. • Nordic countries (Sweden and Denmark) have implemented highly advanced data-sharing models which have strong adoption rates among consum - ers. Despite its potential benefits, the FIDA Regulation also presents several challenges. First, data protection – ensuring that data sharing remains secure and GDPR- compliant – remains an absolute priority. Second, the FIDA Regulation highlights the need to harmonise technical standards across member states and market participants to ensure effective interoperability. Finally, both consumers and businesses must be convinced of the benefits of data sharing, and user acceptance remains a key issue. In the longer term, the FIDA Regulation could pro - foundly reshape the European financial landscape by fostering the emergence of new services and by giving users greater control over their data. It forms part of

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