TrueLayer, the leading technology company building financial infrastructure that’s open to any business, anywhere in  the  world, today announced it has appointed Brenton Charnley as its Head of Australia.

Brenton will be responsible for establishing the Australian operations, obtaining accreditation with the ACCC, supporting TrueLayer’s global partners to launch in Australia and onboarding new partners to integrate with TrueLayer’s platform.

“I am honoured and excited to be joining TrueLayer at this pivotal time for open banking in Australia. It provides consumers the opportunity to take control of their banking data and make it more convenient to make payments from their favourite app or website,” commented Charnley. “TrueLayer is a proven global leader enabling banks and fintechs to thrive in the open banking economy by building APIs to securely access their customers' banking data, verify their accounts, and initiate payments in real-time.”

Charnley was previously Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer  at global insurtech API platform Cover Genius, where he was responsible for global strategy and operations and partnerships across APAC and EU regions.

He has been a pioneer for technology in financial services Australia having founded the Australian insurtech industry body Insurtech Australia, in 2017, and contributed to the ASIC sandbox enabling fintechs to launch in Australia.

Marie Steinthaler, VP Global Go to Market at TrueLayer will continue to lead the APAC Hub for TrueLayer.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Brenton to TrueLayer to head up our Australian business. His experience and strong network, coupled with TrueLayer’s international track record, will be invaluable in helping our Australian clients make the most of the Consumer Data Right and future innovations in Australian fintech,” Steinthaler commented. “His appointment is also a clear sign of our ongoing commitment to the Australian market and building a truly global infrastructure platform to open up finance.”

TrueLayer is in the process of obtaining full accreditation as an Accredited Data Recipient from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) and will formally launch in early 2021. On 2 October, the ACCC amended the CDR rules permitting the use of accredited intermediaries such   as TrueLayer to collect data on behalf of other accredited businesses enabling greater participation in the CDR by fintech firms.

Momentum for the CDR for businesses and consumers will continue to ramp up with a further $20m in funding announced by the Federal Government Budget in October to be split by the ACCC and Treasury to advance the CDR rules and launch an awareness campaign to increase adoption. TrueLayer has been actively participating in consultation with the ACCC and Treasury and is a member of the Data Standards Body Advisory Committee.