Open Banking Expo Awards 2024 winners announced

The winners of the Open Banking Expo Awards 2024 have been announced at a glittering ceremony, hosted by comedian and Radio 4 panel and comedy show regular Lucy Porter.  

Equifax, Virgin Money & Global Payments, Plend, Prommt, Snoop, and BankiFi were among the winners on the night.

This year, the Open Banking Expo Awards, in partnership with Raidiam, took place at the Business Design Centre in London, at the end of Day One (15 October) of Open Banking Expo UK & Europe.

Equifax took home the Best Sector Initiative Award – a category that was new for this year – with the judges calling its ‘Tariff Connect’ solution “highly impactful” within the utilities and telecoms sectors.

Equifax & OneID also won in the Best Industry Partnership category, which the judges said met “a critical market need”.

The Best Use of Data category was won by Snoop, while Plend took the Open Banking for Good award, and BankiFi won for Best App.

Payment orchestration platform Prommt took the award for Best Open Banking Payments Project, as the judges said it was “able to demonstrate real savings for merchants”, with Highly Commended going to Vyne.

The Best Customer Experience category was won by Global Payments & Virgin Money, with the judges citing a partnership in which “everyone’s a winner”.

Among the other winners in categories that were also new for 2024 were Banco Bci, which scooped the Best Team award, while Best Regulatory Open Banking Initiative went to Armalytix. 

This year, Best Open Finance Application was awarded to Raidiam, with the judges noting its work on Brazil’s Open Finance ecosystem.

Chris Michael, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ozone API, was named Pioneer – Individual for having been at the forefront of Open Banking and Open Finance standards. The judges called him “a pioneer in the truest sense of the word”.

The Women in Open Banking awards categories, which were introduced last year, crowned several winners and Highly Commended some individuals.

The Rising Star category was won by Alfiya Khan, software engineer at Ozone API, who the judges said “has had a major impact across the organisation”, with Highly Commended going to Michaela Lähn, senior delivery manager at Tink, for “going above and beyond to support women”.

Charlotte Wise, commercial director at American Express, scooped the Woman of the Year – UK & Europe Award, while Lynsey Hunt, head of Payit product at NatWest, was Highly Commended in the category.

Carrie Forbes, chief executive officer of League Data, was crowned Woman of the Year – International, with Michelle Beyo, founder of Finavator and president of Open Finance Network Canada, Highly Commended by the judges.

The winners were agreed by a stellar panel of judges, representing the full spectrum of the Open Banking ecosystem. The judging was co-chaired by Dr Ruth Wandhöfer, Global Fintech 50 Influencer and David Beardmore, ecosystems development director at Raidiam. 

This year, the judges introduced an Unsung Hero Award, which went to Beccy Earwaker, ecosystem engagement at Open Banking Limited, for being “the ‘glue’ that keeps Open Banking running smoothly”.

Kelly Stanley, co-founder of Open Banking Expo, said: “Congratulations to all our winners and to those who have been highly commended. With such a high calibre of entries this year, the judges had a tough time.

“Huge thanks to our headline partner Raidiam, for supporting our awards scheme.

“The Open Banking Expo Awards are one of the highlights of our year and are an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the best of the best in Open Banking, Open Finance and Payments. This year was no exception – what a fantastic evening!” 

Download the Open Banking Expo Awards winners’ supplement here