Westpac 'agnostic' on who leads open data

Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer says fintechs and government have a role to play in open customer data, but says concerns about fraud are very real.

Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer is keen on the idea of opening customers' data to competitors but remains wary about exposing them to the risk of financial fraud.

Mr Hartzer told the House of Representatives economics committee on Wednesday that players outside the banking industry such as fintechs and governments, or even an "independent secretariat", had a role to play in the sharing of customer data to encourage competition.

"We're relatively agnostic about who leads the process: we are supportive of open data ... (but) our obligations to protect customer data to protect them from fraud and all that are very real," Mr Hartzer told the committee.