What Is Open Banking? A Simple Guide

Before open banking, your bank was the only entity that could access your account data. Now, thanks to the EU's revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), you are in control. You can give explicit permission to other financial apps (such as budgeting tools, lending platforms, or payment services) to securely access your account information or even initiate payments on your behalf.

This is all made possible through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Think of an API as a secure messenger that allows different software applications to talk to each other under very strict rules, without ever sharing your login credentials. These are cryptographically protected interfaces that allow programs—not people—to communicate. The data is transmitted in a coded, machine-readable format, so no one ever sees any of your data in plain text. 

Open banking was designed to make digital finance more open, and, most importantly, centered around your needs, which may not always be aligned with your bank’s capabilities. Open banking ensures that when your bank and another financial app, say, a budgeting tool or an app that helps you manage and pay your household bills, need to exchange information, they do so through an encrypted digital conversation, and your data is not being passed around in spreadsheets or any other type of human-readable files. And because you control exactly what is shared and for how long, your privacy and consent remain at the center. The result is a financial ecosystem that is not only more open, but also more secure.

How Bankera Supports Open Banking

At Bankera, security and innovation are at the core of what we do. We fully support the principles of open banking by providing a dedicated, secure Open Banking API.

This API allows regulated Account Information Service Providers (AISPs) and Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs) to connect to your Bankera account, but only with your explicit consent.

Here’s what that means for you:

1. You Are in Control: No app or service can access your Bankera account information without your direct approval. You decide who gets access, what data they can see, and for how long.
2. Robust Security: Our API uses the same high standards of security and authentication that protect your Bankera account every day. You never have to share your password or private keys with a third party.
3. A Gateway to Innovation: By supporting open banking, your Bankera account becomes a powerful and flexible tool. You can securely connect it to the wider ecosystem of financial apps you trust, unlocking new ways to manage your money more effectively.

Whether you're an individual who wants to link a budgeting app or a business that needs to integrate multiple financial services, Bankera’s open banking support ensures you can do so seamlessly and securely.