Open Data API
Open Data API
UK Open Banking API is the UK's statutory banking API standard — third parties access user account data and initiate payments with user consent (PSD2 compliance).
Statutory standard (all major UK banks must support)
Third-party institutions must register with FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) — not directly accessible
Institutions first register with FCA as AISP/PISP, obtain client certs + register apps on each target bank's developer portal. OAuth flow for user token, then call bank API.
Uptime · 30-day window
About this API
UK Open Banking is the world's most mature open banking system, implementing PSD2 (EU Payment Services Directive 2) in the UK. Background: traditionally banks held user financial data tightly without third-party access, but PSD2 mandates banks must open standardized APIs to approved third parties. UK led the way — CMA9 (9 major banks: HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, etc.) established a unified Open Banking standard. Two core APIs: AIS (Account Information Service) lets third parties query user accounts and transactions; PIS (Payment Initiation Service) lets third parties initiate transfers on behalf of users. This ecosystem birthed Monzo, Starling, Wise, Plaid, and other fintech companies. Third-party providers (TPPs) must first register with FCA as AISP/PISP to be eligible.
What you can build
- 1Account aggregation apps (one app shows balances across all banks)
- 2Spending analysis (Mint-style apps)
- 3A2A payments (bypass card rails, direct bank transfer)
- 4Credit assessment (without users submitting PDF statements)
Strengths & limitations
Strengths
- Statutory standard (all major UK banks must support)
- Strong user authorization (OAuth + SCA)
- Spawned a complete Fintech ecosystem
Limitations
- Third-party institutions must register with FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) — not directly accessible
- Each bank's implementation has slight differences
Example request
curl https://openbanking.org.uk/<endpoint>Getting started
Institutions first register with FCA as AISP/PISP, obtain client certs + register apps on each target bank's developer portal. OAuth flow for user token, then call bank API.
FAQ
Can developers outside UK use it?+
Yes, but need EU passport registration or UK entity. Local fintechs typically integrate via Plaid or similar intermediaries.
Does the US have Open Banking?+
No mandatory law, but CFPB issued rules in 2024 pushing similar mechanisms. Companies like Plaid are the de-facto standard.
Technical details
- Auth type
- unknown
- Pricing
- unknown
- Protocols
- REST
- SDKs
- python, javascript, go, java
- Response time
- 1333 ms
- Last health check
- 5/12/2026, 7:38:01 AM
More from Openbanking Org Uk
UK Open Banking Account Information API (AIS) lets authenticated third parties read user bank account balance, transactions, and metadata with user consent.
UK Open Banking Confirmation of Funds API (CBPII) lets third parties query if a user account has sufficient funds — returns only yes/no, not the actual amount.
UK Open Banking Event Notifications API lets TPPs (third parties) subscribe to bank event streams — async notifications for account changes, consent revocations, customer status changes.
UK Open Banking Payment Initiation API (PIS) lets authenticated third parties initiate transfers from user bank accounts with user consent (A2A payments).