[MyData's Long Road Ahead]② MyData Providers as Platforms in the UK

Collecting Personal Information Scattered Across Multiple Agencies in One Place
Providing Information to Service Companies Related to Health, Finance, Travel, etc.
Evolving into a B2B2C Business Model

Source: MyData Domestic and International Status and Major Overseas Cases (KDB Future Strategy Research Institute)

[Asia Economy Reporters Sim Nayoung and Lee Minwoo] "Amy, who lives in London, is an asthma patient. She provides her wearable device information to a health management app to monitor physical activities such as exercise amount and heart rate, checking her health status daily."

"Josh planned a vacation to Africa this summer. Before leaving, he was curious about which vaccines he needed, so he reviewed his vaccination records through a travel-related app, which analyzed the data and identified additional vaccines he needed to get."

This is a use case of the UK’s MyData operator ‘Digi.me’. Digi.me collects personal information scattered across various institutions into one place and then provides the necessary information to service companies related to health, finance, travel, and more. It operates as a B2B2C business model, combining Business to Business and Business to Consumer transactions.

Overseas, Digi.me and Mydex are Representative

Digi.me acts as a ‘platform’ between individuals and companies. It supports individuals by gathering their information into a single repository for tracking and management, and provides companies with this data securely so they can utilize it for business purposes. According to the KDB Future Strategy Institute’s report on ‘MyData Domestic and Overseas Status and Major Overseas Cases,’ "Users who provide their personal information to Digi.me can enjoy various services as Digi.me delivers that information to other operators." For example, Digi.me’s individual users can automatically receive insurance, hotel, and rental car offers through travel plan monitoring, and get travel destination recommendations based on their bank balances, card payment history, income level, and social network service (SNS) analysis.

The UK’s Mydex provides MyData services centered on public information. It can obtain personal information such as public utility billing and consumption records, and detailed driver’s license information from the government. Additionally, it collects a total of 50 types of data including bank account and credit card information, health records, wearable data, and search history. Yellen Mitchell, Chairperson of Mydex, explained, "With individual consent, we collect financial status information and securely store it in a repository. The data is provided to necessary companies, analyzed, and then services are offered to users to help improve their financial status."

‘Kukon’ Leads in Korea

Kukon is a notable platform-type MyData operator in South Korea. Kukon collects about 50,000 financial and business data items and provides them in standardized Application Programming Interface (API) form. It gathers data and converts it into an easy-to-use format before supplying it to companies in need. Kukon serves over 1,800 clients including financial institutions, public and private companies, big tech, and fintech firms. Most loan comparison services on the market are equipped with Kukon APIs. Companies connected with Kukon can access product information from various financial institutions without linking to each one individually. Notable examples include Toss, KakaoPay, Finda, and Hyundai Card, which offer personalized loan product comparison and recommendation services through Kukon’s loan limit and interest rate inquiry APIs.

Kukon is the only API platform company selected as a MyData operator. It supports companies that want to expand their MyData business but lack API development capacity or are not authorized operators. Samsung Card, Woori Card, BNK Savings Bank, and KB Savings Bank have adopted Kukon’s MyData solutions.

Kukon’s growth is steady. Listed on the KOSDAQ market, Kukon recorded consolidated sales of 61.4 billion KRW and operating profit of 16.8 billion KRW last year, increasing by 19.6% and 49.7% respectively compared to the previous year. Especially, data segment sales grew by 61.1% year-on-year, driving performance growth. Financial companies without MyData operator licenses or firms struggling to build service personnel are expected to increasingly collaborate with Kukon, supporting its continuous growth.

There are also entities acting as ‘brokers’ buying and selling data. The Financial Data Exchange, launched by the government, is a prime example. It is Korea’s first big data industry platform that integrates and trades data across various sectors including finance, telecommunications, distribution, and public enterprises, opening in May 2020. Managed directly by the Financial Security Institute, participating companies do not need to spend extra on security enhancements. As of this month, there are 106 member companies: 52 financial firms including banks, card companies, securities, and insurance, and 54 non-financial firms in distribution, information and communication, portals, and energy sectors. About 1,200 data products are currently on sale, with cumulative transactions exceeding 8,500.

Additionally, in the private sector, operators like KDX Korea Data Exchange provide services such as data trading brokerage, AI data production and distribution, and customized data services for enterprises.