Section 14 enables the Treasury to make regulations to confer powers on the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") to impose requirements, via rules, on interface bodies used by the financial services sector and on persons participating in, or using the facilities and services provided by, such bodies. This is to allow the FCA to regulate financial services Smart Data schemes and interface bodies in a manner broadly consistent with its regulation of the wider financial services sector (although with some differences to reflect the specific nature of such bodies and schemes). Direct regulatory oversight of financial services interface bodies is also necessary to allow financial services Smart Data schemes to operate consistently with the arrangements for Open Banking that have been in place to date under the CMA Order.
	Subsection (1) permits the Treasury to make regulations to enable or require the FCA to make rules about interfaces used in relation to customer data and business data in financial services. Subsection (1)(a) provides that rules may require financial services providers to use a prescribed interface, comply with prescribed interface standards or participate in prescribed interface arrangements when providing or receiving data which is required to be provided by data regulations. Such rules could include requiring data holders to comply with a certain API standard, for example. Subsection (1)(b) provides that rules may require persons described in the regulations to use a prescribed interface, comply with prescribed interface standards or participate in prescribed interface arrangements when, in the course of business, they receive data from a financial services provider that is required to be provided by data regulations. Subsection 1(c) provides that the FCA can impose interface-related requirements on a person taking the action described in section 2(4) (also referred to as ‘action initiation’). This ensures that Open Banking and future Smart Data schemes in financial services are able to function properly. Subsection (1)(d) provides that rules may impose interface-related requirements on persons falling within subsection (3).
	Subsection (3) defines the categories of person to which the interface-related requirements can apply. This includes interface bodies, persons required to set up interface bodies and persons who use related interfaces, standards or arrangements or are required to do so. The application is limited to interface bodies, and interfaces, standards and arrangements linked to the financial services sector (see subsection (5)).
	Subsection (4) sets out the types of interface-related requirements that the FCA may impose. These include requirements relating to the composition, governance or activities of an interface body linked to the financial services sector. Subsection (5) details when an interface body, an interface, interface standards and interface arrangements are considered to be linked to the financial services sector.
	Subsection (6) permits the Treasury via regulations to enable or require the FCA to impose additional requirements on firms to whom its rules apply. The intention of this is to allow the FCA to effectively regulate firms and interface bodies and intervene where necessary.
	Subsection (7) provides that the FCA may impose requirements by notice or direction.
	Subsection (8) and subsection (9) confirm that the same restrictions on powers of investigation apply to the FCA interface rules and requirements as apply under section 9.
	Subsection (10) provides definitions of "financial services provider", "prescribed", "relevant financial services action", and "section 2(4) actor" in respect of the section.
Part 1: Access to Customer Data and Business Data Financial Services Sector Section 14: The FCA and financial services interfaces