NAB fully acquires open banking partner Banked to strengthen its payment infrastructure layout.

NAB Fully Acquires Open Banking Partner Banked, Strengthening Payment Infrastructure Strategy

Lead: National Australia Bank (NAB) recently announced that it has acquired full ownership of its open banking partner, Banked. The transaction fully integrates Banked's payment technology into NAB's system, marking a further deepening of strategic investment by a mainstream bank in open banking and real-time payments. Although the transaction amount was not disclosed, the move is regarded by the industry as the latest example of a bank rapidly acquiring fintech capabilities through mergers and acquisitions.

Industry Background: The Open Banking Wave and Payment Infrastructure Upgrade

Open banking has globally shifted from a policy topic to actual implementation. Regulatory requirements and consumers' demand for data control are driving banks to open account data and payment channels to third parties. At the same time, the proliferation of real-time payment networks (such as Australia's New Payments Platform) has provided the technological infrastructure for open banking. However, most traditional banks still have shortcomings in API capabilities, data standardization, and developer ecosystems, making partnerships with fintech companies or direct acquisitions an efficient path.

Founded in 2016, Banked is a technology company that provides open banking payment solutions, focusing on account-to-account (A2A) payments through APIs and supporting scenarios such as QR code payments, online checkout, and embedded commerce. Its technology allows businesses to initiate payments directly from customers' bank accounts, replacing traditional card payments, thereby reducing transaction costs and improving settlement efficiency.

Current Developments: Integration of NAB and Banked

NAB had previously been an investor in and customer of Banked, and had used Banked's technology in some retail and commercial payment products. Following this full acquisition, Banked will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of NAB, with its team and product lines integrated into NAB's payments and digital division.

Analysts believe that NAB's move is aimed at deepening its control over the payment value chain, especially embedded payment tools for small and medium-sized enterprises and large merchants. By internalizing Banked's technology, NAB can iterate products more quickly while reducing reliance on third-party suppliers. In addition, the acquisition helps NAB build more competitive data-driven services under open banking data-sharing frameworks such as Australia's Consumer Data Right (CDR).

Impact on the Financial System

Payment Efficiency

Banked's account-to-account payment capabilities can reduce reliance on card networks and intermediate clearing links, potentially lowering transaction costs and enabling faster settlement of funds. For merchants, this means lower acceptance costs and more immediate cash flow.

Financial Inclusion

Open banking payments can cover more users who are underserved by traditional bank accounts, making them particularly suitable for small merchants and emerging markets. By integrating Banked, NAB can extend these capabilities to more customer groups, promoting financial inclusion.

Banking CompetitionLarge banks' acquisition of open banking technology is both a response to the challenges posed by emerging fintech companies and a potential shift in the competitive landscape. On one hand, banks gain agile innovation capabilities; on the other, independent fintech companies may face more direct competition.

Compliance Costs

Open banking involves strict data privacy and consumer protection regulations. As a large bank, NAB has an advantage in compliance resources. However, fully integrating Banked in-house also means its technology must meet bank-grade security standards, which may lead to certain integration costs.

Risk Management

Account-to-account payments directly link bank accounts, placing higher demands on fraud detection and identity verification. NAB needs to ensure that Banked's AI risk-control models are compatible with the bank's existing systems and meet local regulatory AML/CTF obligations.

Challenges Ahead

Data Privacy and Security

Open banking payments involve users' bank credentials and transaction data, and any leak would pose significant risks. NAB must ensure end-to-end encryption and access controls, and strictly comply with Australia's Privacy Act and CDR rules.

Cybersecurity

Payment infrastructure is a high-value target for cyberattacks. After the acquisition, Banked's API interfaces may become an attack surface, and NAB needs to strengthen threat monitoring and emergency response capabilities.

Technology Integration

Integrating a startup's agile technology with a bank's mainframe systems often involves friction in culture, architecture, and development processes. How to preserve Banked's innovative DNA while avoiding "post-acquisition decline" is a major test for NAB.

Regulatory Uncertainty

Australia's open banking framework is still in an evolutionary stage, and the CDR's expanded scope, certification standards, and liability allocation may change. In addition, the development of cross-border payments and stablecoins may also affect the market space for open banking payments.

Future Outlook

NAB's acquisition of Banked shows that open banking is shifting from compliance-driven to value creation. It is expected that in the next three to five years, more banks will regard open banking capabilities as core infrastructure rather than ancillary functions. Acquiring technology vendors will become a mainstream way for banks to fill payment gaps, and we may also see accelerated M&A between banks and fintech companies.

For the global market, this transaction provides a reference for banks in other regions: in the wave of real-time payments and embedded finance, owning an independently controllable technology platform will be key to determining future competitiveness. The effectiveness of NAB's integration will be validated in product innovation and financial performance over the coming fiscal years.

Conclusion

The boundary between banks and fintech is being reshaped. By wholly owning Banked, NAB has internalized open banking payment technology as its own capability. This is not just a corporate action but a microcosm of the digital transformation of the financial industry. As technology, regulation, and user needs interact, global financial infrastructure will further integrate, and institutions that complete this process first will win the initiative in the next round of competition.