Launching a Groundbreaking Financial Transactions Global Research Network

The Financial Transactions Global Research Network is a collaborative initiative founded by ABN AMRO bank, BBVA Research, and Prometis lab by BNP Paribas Fortis and Ghent University. The non-profit platform aims to harness insights derived from anonymised financial transaction data to generate real-time economic understanding, promoting better decision-making for the public good.

In a significant move to promote data-driven decision-making and foster greater economic understanding, three prominent banks' research institutes have joined forces to launch an open, collaborative, non-profit platform. The collaborative effort, spearheaded by ABN AMRO bank, BBVA Research, and Prometis lab by BNP Paribas Fortis and Ghent University, seeks to bridge the gap between economic reality and policy response by providing actionable, real-time, data-driven insights to households, businesses, and policymakers.

In today's fast-paced, rapidly changing economic landscape, traditional public data collection methods face increasing challenges in capturing timely and representative economic information. The new research network seeks to address this gap by leveraging transaction-based insights to better understand the financial realities of people, households, and businesses, while maintaining the highest standards of privacy protection.

"Over two years ago, while we were founding Prometis Lab, we noticed that multiple players in the financial industry were trying to push the boundaries of economic insights with transactions data. Just like we had been doing in the collaboration between Ghent University and BNP Paribas Fortis. All of us were, however, working in isolation, without any standardised guidance on how to even handle these immense datasets. Seperately, we were investing months or even years in building similar methods to convert transactions into actionable information. This while there was an increasing demand for more granular and real-time insights from policymakers. So we starting reaching out to them, and one by one found incredibly enthousiastic partners who saw the value in collaboration like we did. My belief in that this will have an incredible impact on the future of economic analyses and policy has only grew since then. We at Prometis Lab are excited to help build this future. " As said by Milan van den Heuvel, CEO Prometis Lab.

The non-profit platform will operate on the principles of openness, inclusivity, and transparency, collaborating with industry, policymakers, and academia to generate high-quality research and promote trust through data-driven insights. Each participating institution will analyze its own anonymized data, with the network facilitating the exchange of methodologies, research findings, and aggregated insights. All methods and results will be made openly available, ensuring that valuable economic insights are accessible to all peers in the industry, while proprietary data remains secure within each institution.

The network is built on a collaborative governance model. A Scientific Council, made up of leading economists from international institutions and academia, sets research priorities and ensures scientific rigor. A Management Steering Committee, composed of representatives from socially committed financial institutions, oversees operations and provides data context. Topic Groups, organized around priorities identified by the Scientific Council, bring together leading researchers, corporates, academia, and policymakers to facilitate knowledge exchange through webinars, workshops, and talks, generating ideas for deeper investigation. From these collaborative discussions, the Scientific Council advises on establishing Topic-specific Working Groups, where participating banks provide support for in-depth research, developing new methodologies and insights on societally important topics. The initiative also welcomes Associated Research Members—individuals and organizations engaging in the network's seminars, conferences, and events—to further broaden the exchange of ideas. The Scientific Council is fully established, and the Management Steering Committee is expanding to include more financial institutions committed to societal impact, with CaixaBank and Danske Bank as the first to join, reinforcing the network's open and collaborative ethos.

This innovative initiative marks a significant step forward in the responsible use of financial data for social good, demonstrating the potential for financial institutions to act as a force for positive change while respecting individual privacy and data sovereignty.

To learn more about the network's mission, research pillars, and members, visit www.ftgrn.org .