Last year, the Government passed legislation called the Consumer Data Right, which gives customers the right to control their data—who has access to that data, and how it can be used.

Those laws came into effect a couple of weeks ago, which means banks are now obligated to share your data with competitors, if you request it. The Big Four expect to be able to do this from November, while at smaller banks it may take up to a year.

So what’s the benefit of this? Well, the biggest one is that it makes it easier to shop around for better deals, and easier to swap a financial product to another institution if you’re looking for a better offer to suit your needs.

Anyone who has tried to swap a bank account, credit card, or loan can attest to the tedium of doing so. And that tedium has kept customers complacent, staying at the same bank, simply because the process to swap is so cumbersome.

The ACCC expects that by allowing customers to swap products easily, the banks will have to remain competitive if they want to keep their customer base. And a competitive industry is better for the consumer.

Evidently, the banks know this too. CBA is investing $5 billion in new technologies, and advisory firm Gartner predicts that $18.5 billion will be spent on IT and digital innovation in the Australian banking sector.

It’s early days and institutions including neo banks will need to ensure they meet stringent security and privacy requirements. But once again technological advancement is carving the way for more competitive, customer centric product offerings.