MORE treasured than the bullion in its vaults are the data a bank has stored on its servers. Bankers know what their customers eat, where they shop and, increasingly, what they get up to online. It is possible for customers to share these data with others, but the process is cumbersome. In effect, banks enjoy a monopoly over data that has helped them get away with lousy service and fend off newcomers with better ideas. In Europe, at least, that is all about to change.
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