AIS reads bank data; PIS starts payments. Account information services (AIS) let a provider see a customer's balances and transactions with consent. Payment initiation services (PIS) let a provider start a payment from the customer's account. A third activity, confirmation of funds, only checks whether an amount is available. Each is a separate FCA permission, and one provider can hold more than one.
The core difference
Open banking splits into reading and doing. Reading is account information: a provider, with consent, sees the data a bank holds. Doing is payment initiation: a provider, with consent, tells the bank to make a payment. They are separate regulated activities with separate consents, because reading someone's transactions and moving their money carry very different risks. Most real uses combine them: verify income from the data, then collect by pay by bank.
What is an AISP?
An AISP is an account information service provider: a firm authorised by the FCA to access account data on a customer's behalf. In plain terms, it is the party allowed to look. An AISP can retrieve balances, transactions, standing orders, direct debits and account details, but it cannot move money. Lenders, brokers, accountants and letting agents nearly always need AIS, because income and affordability come from the data. You can use AIS through an authorised provider rather than becoming an AISP yourself.
What is a PISP?
A PISP is a payment initiation service provider: a firm authorised to start a payment from the customer's account once they approve it. It is the party allowed to pay. The PISP never holds the money; it instructs the customer's bank, which makes the transfer. Pay by bank and variable recurring payments both run through PIS. A business collecting payments, a lender taking repayments, a letting agent taking a deposit, needs PIS, usually through a provider. See open banking payments.
What is a CBPII?
A CBPII is a card-based payment instrument issuer that uses confirmation of funds: it asks the bank a single yes or no question, is this amount available, without seeing the balance or any transactions. It is a narrow permission used mainly by card issuers deciding whether to authorise a transaction. Most lenders and businesses do not need it; it is included here because it is the third activity people meet when reading the Standard.
Which one does your use case need?
| AIS (read data) | PIS (start payments) | CoF / CBPII | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Reads balances and transactions | Initiates a payment | Confirms an amount is available |
| Who is authorised | AISP | PISP | CBPII |
| Customer consents to | Which accounts and data, for how long | A specific amount and payee (or VRP limits) | A yes/no funds check |
| Typical business use | Income, affordability, referencing | Pay by bank, repayments, deposits | Card authorisation |
| Moves money? | No | Yes | No |
As a rule of thumb: if your question is "can they afford it?" you need AIS; if it is "can I collect it?" you need PIS; most lending and letting journeys need both. For how this maps to income and affordability, see income verification and affordability assessment.
From the data consumer's side
You rarely choose "AIS" or "PIS" in the abstract; you choose an outcome, and the permissions follow. Decide what you need to know and what you need to collect, then make sure your provider holds both permissions so one connection can serve the whole journey. The practical payoff of combining them is a single customer approval that verifies affordability and sets up collection, instead of two separate asks that lose people in between.
How Credit Canary does it
Credit Canary works through a provider authorised for both account information and payment initiation, so a single journey can verify income and affordability and then take payment by pay by bank, alongside Direct Debit and card. You consent the customer once and get both the decision and the collection.
Common questions
Can one provider do both AIS and PIS?
Yes. A firm can be authorised for both, and many are, so a single connection can read data and start a payment. The customer consents to each activity separately.
Does AIS move any money?
No. Account information is read-only. It can see balances and transactions but cannot initiate a payment. Moving money is payment initiation (PIS).
What is a CBPII?
A confirmation of funds provider. It asks a simple yes or no question of the bank, whether a given amount is available, without seeing the balance or transactions. It is mainly used by card issuers.
Do I need my own AISP or PISP authorisation?
Usually not. Most businesses use open banking through a provider that holds the authorisation, or act as its agent, rather than becoming authorised themselves.
Related pages
Primary sources
- Payment Services Regulations 2017, SI 2017/752, for the definitions of AIS and PIS (checked 14 Oct 2026).
- openbanking.org.uk, regulated providers (checked 14 Oct 2026).
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.