Launched by the UK Government last month, Mydata, gives consumers access to the data that businesses have on them, calculating that such access could help people make better-informed choices. Justin Schamotta at Choose.net wonders if businesses really are keen to share their data with others…
Financial service providers no longer fool anyone with their claims of unique services and products. If there’s one credit card offering one thing then, sure enough, there’ll be another. The consumer’s job is sniffing out the best deal – not always easy when there are seemingly hundreds of products to choose from.
Of course, thanks to the wonders of technology, we’re already experiencing a sea-change in how we, as consumers, interact with credit card companies and other financial service providers.
By allowing us to bring together multiple different accounts, services such as Mint, Yodlee and Thrive provide an overall picture of our financial situation and help us manage our money better.
The explosion of price and product comparison sites meanwhile has helped a new generation of savvy consumers narrow down their choices.
But the Government wants to go a step further. It’s hoping that its MyData initiative will herald the arrival of the next generation of consumer-focused services.
The idea is that marketing data will be shared out and available to consumers instantly, in a useful form.
Currently, there’s a 40-day-wait when a request for data held by companies is made under the data protection act, take up is low and consumers may struggle to analyse the reams of information themselves.
Instead, the Government envisages a new business sector of data analysis apps and providers who will crunch and munch the data, before excreting it in a form that helps the consumers make deadly accurate choices based on their spending habits and financial situation.
Undeniably useful but there are a few areas that the MyData enthusiasts haven’t addressed.
Just over 20 companies are in talks with the government but, presumably, more than 20 companies know about it, suggesting that for all the noble ideals, not everyone in the Land of Business is ecstatically happy about the idea of sharing their customer’s data.
Companies won’t be forced to join the MyData project – membership is entirely optional. This begs the question whether those with a reason to keep their customer’s data close to their chests will continue to do so. An obvious example would be Tesco and its much-loved Clubcard.
Tesco has worked long and hard absorbing the shopping habits of a nation. Will they willingly hand over this valuable information to a third party? Is providing consumers with the ammunition they need to possibly better deals elsewhere good for profit? Only time will tell.
This is a guest post from Choose. The site covers rights issues, research and debate into the consumer credit card and more broadly personal finance markets.
