Open Banking in Australia: How CDR Makes Your Financial Statement Easier

One of the most time-consuming parts of completing a Financial Statement is gathering all your bank account information. Traditionally, this meant downloading statements, manually entering balances, and double-checking everything for accuracy.

With Open Banking through Australia’s Consumer Data Right (CDR), there’s now a much easier way.

What Is Open Banking?

Open Banking is a secure way to share your bank account information with trusted third-party services—like ezysplit. It’s enabled by the Consumer Data Right (CDR), which is Australian government legislation that gives you control over your financial data.

Instead of downloading PDFs and typing numbers, you can simply connect your bank account and have your information imported automatically.

How Does CDR Work?

The Consumer Data Right creates a secure, standardised way for accredited services to access your banking data with your explicit permission. Here’s how it works:

1. You initiate the connection by selecting your bank in ezysplit
2. You log in through your bank’s secure portal (not through ezysplit)
3. You choose which accounts to share data from
4. Your data is transferred securely to ezysplit
5. You can revoke access anytime through your bank’s app or website

Your bank login credentials are never stored by ezysplit or any other CDR-accredited service. The connection is directly with your bank.

Is It Safe?

Yes—Open Banking through CDR is one of the most secure ways to share financial data. Here’s why:

Government-Regulated

CDR is overseen by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Companies must meet strict security and privacy requirements to become accredited.

Bank-Level Security

Data is encrypted using the same security standards as online banking. The transfer happens through secure APIs (application programming interfaces) rather than screen scraping or sharing passwords.

You’re in Control

You decide exactly which accounts to share and can revoke access at any time. You can view and manage your data sharing permissions through your bank’s app or website.

Privacy Protection

CDR includes strong privacy protections under Australian law. Your data can only be used for the purpose you’ve consented to.

What Data Can Be Shared?

When you connect your bank through Open Banking, ezysplit can access:

• Account balances – current and available balance
• Account details – account type, BSB, account number
• Transaction history – typically up to 24 months
• Account holder information – name on the account

We use this information to automatically populate the banking sections of your Financial Statement, saving you significant time and ensuring accuracy.

Which Banks Support Open Banking?

All major Australian banks support CDR, including:

• Commonwealth Bank
• Westpac
• NAB
• ANZ
• Macquarie Bank
• ING
• Bendigo Bank
• Bank of Queensland
• Suncorp
• And many more

The list of participating institutions continues to grow as CDR expands across the financial sector.

Benefits for Your Financial Statement

Using Open Banking with ezysplit offers several advantages:

Save Time

What used to take hours of manual data entry can now be done in minutes. Connect your accounts and watch your balances populate automatically.

Ensure Accuracy

Manual entry is prone to typos. Automatic import ensures the figures in your Financial Statement match your actual bank records.

Stay Current

Bank balances change frequently. Open Banking provides up-to-date information, which is particularly important if your Financial Statement needs to reflect a specific date.

Comprehensive Coverage

Connect multiple accounts across different banks to capture your complete financial picture in one place.

How to Connect Your Bank in ezysplit

Connecting your bank through ezysplit is straightforward:

1. Log in to your ezysplit account and navigate to the Banking section
2. Click “Connect Bank Account” and select your bank from the list
3. Log in to your bank’s secure portal when prompted
4. Select the accounts you want to connect
5. Review and confirm the data sharing permissions
6. Return to ezysplit where your account information will be automatically imported

The entire process typically takes less than 5 minutes per bank.

What If I Don’t Want to Use Open Banking?

Open Banking is completely optional. If you prefer, you can manually enter all your bank account information in ezysplit. We provide the same structured forms and guidance either way.

Some people prefer manual entry for various reasons:

• Their bank hasn’t yet joined CDR
• They want to include accounts that don’t support Open Banking
• They’re comfortable gathering the information themselves

The choice is yours.

Privacy and Your Data

ezysplit takes privacy seriously. When you connect your bank:

• We only access data you’ve explicitly consented to share
• We never store your bank login credentials
• Your data is encrypted and stored in Australian data centres
• We don’t share your banking data with third parties
• You can disconnect your bank and request data deletion at any time

For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

The Future of Open Banking

CDR is expanding beyond banking. The government plans to extend it to energy, telecommunications, and other sectors. This means even more ways to securely control and share your data in the future.

For now, Open Banking represents a significant step forward in making financial processes—like completing your Financial Statement—faster and easier.

Get Started

Ready to save time on your Financial Statement? Create your free ezysplit account and connect your bank accounts to automatically import your financial data.

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This article provides general information about Open Banking and the Consumer Data Right in Australia. For specific privacy or security questions, please refer to your bank’s documentation or the ACCC website.