The consumer rules are a sharing program that allows consumers to use the data companies hold on them. It means a customer of a financial institution could choose to share existing banking data like transaction history or account balances with another accredited business.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said BoQ was required to be in a position to share data for financial products by July 1 last year but didn’t meet the requirement until December 13.

The ACCC said that meant customers were unable to share their data for five months.

ACCC commissioner Peter Crone said “under the CDR, consumers had the right to safely and securely share their data with accredited providers, including fintech firms and other third parties who, in turn, could use the data to create better customised products and services for the consumer.

“In the current environment of rising interest rates, consumers benefit from greater access to information and tools to help them compare products and make informed decisions about switching banks and CDR assists this,” Crone said.

“As it is rolled out, the CDR will increase customer choice and promote innovation needed to improve competition in financial services and other areas.”

The ACCC said some banks were delayed in implementing their DCR solutions because of the shortage of skilled IT resources.