Open banking in the UK, explained
Open banking is the UK framework that lets an FCA-regulated provider, with your customer's explicit consent, securely read their bank account data or initiate a payment through standardised APIs. For a lender, broker or accountant it means verified income, real affordability and account-to-account collection, without ever handling login details.
Written from the data consumer's side: the firm that wants to use open banking data or payments, not the bank that provides them. Reviewed and dated, not a news feed.
Where do you want to start?
What open banking is, what it does, the rules, the data it gives you, and whether it is worth doing.
The Standard, the Read/Write API, the security profile, consent mechanics and what changed in v4.
Every term defined once, and a live tracker of the current version of each spec.
Who is involved, from your side
The Standard is written from the bank's point of view. Here is the same flow from the point of view of the firm using the data or collecting the payment.
Approve once, at your own bank. No login shared.
Credit Canary sits at the right-hand end: it provides open banking through a regulated provider and turns the result into decisions and payments inside your platform. See the step-by-step flow →
Key facts
Dated and sourced. These figures feed from our standards tracker, last checked 14 October 2026.
For your sector
See how firms like yours use open banking to verify income, check affordability and collect payment.
Open banking, delivered into your platform
Credit Canary provides income verification, affordability and pay by bank through a regulated provider, alongside credit bureau and identity data. Entry pricing from £250 per month, scaling with volume.
Request a quoteBy James Fell, Founder & CEO, Credit Canary · About · LinkedIn · Last reviewed 15 October 2026
Fintech expert with deep knowledge across payments and credit risk.
Credit Canary provides open banking through fumopay limited, an FCA-authorised account information and payment initiation service provider (FRN 925689), of which Credit Canary is an agent. Underlying bank connectivity is also provided by fumopay limited. This page is an evergreen reference and is reviewed and dated; it is not regulatory, legal or financial advice.