The Consumer Data Right (CDR) gives consumers the right to share their data between service providers of their own choosing. July 2024 marks 4 years since Australia’s Consumer Data Right was launched. Disappointingly, this report finds that overall customer engagement with the CDR has been low, and CDR-enabled innovation has struggled to resonate with consumers. 

The CDR went live to customers of Australia's major banks in July 2020, and to customers of other banks in July 2021. Approaching 4 years since its launch, the ABA commissioned Accenture to undertake this strategic review to understand how Australians are using it.

Key findings of the review:

• At the end of 2023, only 0.31 per cent of bank customers were using CDR, more than 50 per cent of data sharing arrangements had been discontinued or allowed to lapse throughout the year.
• In addition to significant government investment, the banking industry has invested around $1.5 billion into CDR since 2018.
• Contrary to its intent, the CDR is negatively impacting competition in the sector as mid-tier and regional banks incur disproportionately higher compliance costs compared to major banks.
• High compliance costs are forcing difficult investment trade-offs – particularly for smaller banks – leading to vital technology and customer projects being deprioritised (e.g. digital banking experiences, scam detection and prevention).
• Other digital innovations in banking, such as mobile wallets and PayID, have had materially higher customer uptake three to four years post launching.