Open banking and finance are progressing rapidly, driven by consumer demand for secure financial experiences and the shift from screen scraping to secure, permission-based API access. Greg Chan, CTO of Akoya, highlighted the importance of APIs in giving consumers control over their financial data by allowing them to determine which data is shared and with whom, thus reducing risks for both financial institutions and end-users. This approach aligns with the U.S. 1033 rule, promoting open data sharing as both a compliance challenge and opportunity. Akoya's API-based network supports diverse use cases such as personal finance management, account linking, payment initiation, cash-flow underwriting, and fraud prevention, catering to the increasing market demand. Moreover, Akoya's collaboration with APIMatic enhances the developer experience by providing robust documentation, SDKs, and code samples in multiple languages, which facilitates quick integration and innovation. This consumer-driven shift is reflected in the significant growth of the Financial Data Exchange framework, which has seen connections rise dramatically, illustrating the enduring impact of open banking and finance in the digital age.