Open banking is usually priced on volume, not a fixed licence. Providers charge per connection, per API call, per user or as a platform fee, and the real cost depends on whether you need data, payments or both, and how much enrichment and support come with it. Credit Canary's entry pricing starts at £250 per month and scales with volume.
Pricing models in the market
There is no single tariff for open banking; providers package it differently. The common models are:
| Model | How it works |
|---|---|
| Per connection | A charge each time a customer connects their account for a data pull. |
| Per API call | A charge per request, which can add up for refreshing ongoing access. |
| Per user / per check | A charge per verified customer or per completed check. |
| Platform fee | A monthly fee for the service, often with volume tiers, bundling data, enrichment and support. |
| Per payment | For payment initiation, a charge per transaction, usually well below card fees. |
Most real arrangements combine these: a platform fee plus volume-based usage. The important thing is to compare like with like, because a low per-call price can be more expensive overall than a platform fee that includes enrichment.
What drives cost
- Volume. The biggest driver: more connections or payments cost more, but usually at a declining unit rate.
- Data, payments, or both. Account information and payment initiation are priced differently; using both changes the shape.
- Depth of enrichment. Raw access is cheap; accurate categorisation, income detection and affordability are where the value and the cost sit.
- Support and compliance. Consent management, monitoring and help when something breaks are part of the real cost, even if they are not a line item.
Hidden costs
The headline access price is rarely the whole story. Watch for the costs that do not appear on the first page: the engineering time to clean and categorise a raw feed yourself, building and maintaining consent management, the support burden when connections fail, and the integration effort to wire it into your decisioning. A feed that looks cheap because it is raw can cost far more once you add the work to make it usable, which is why an enriched service with a clear price is often cheaper in total. See raw vs enriched data.
A total-cost view
The useful way to budget is total cost of ownership, not unit price: access plus enrichment plus integration plus support plus the opportunity cost of wrong decisions. A provider that returns a clean, accurate decision reduces your underwriting effort and your defaults, which can dwarf the line-item price. When you compare options, price the whole job of getting from a customer connection to a decision you can act on, not just the API call. See choosing a provider.
Our pricing
Credit Canary's entry pricing starts at £250 per month and scales with volume. Because the right price depends on your mix of data and payments, your volumes and the sectors you serve, we quote rather than publish a single rate card. There are no card scheme fees on account-to-account payments, and enrichment, consent handling and support are part of the service rather than extras.
From the data consumer's side
Buy the decision, not the API call. The cheapest raw feed can be the most expensive option once you add the work to make it usable and the cost of decisions that were wrong because the data was poorly categorised. Ask providers to price the whole job, run real cases to judge the quality, and compare total cost of ownership. For payments, model the saving against your current card fees at your real average transaction value.
How Credit Canary does it
Credit Canary prices on volume with enrichment, consent and support included, and combines open banking with credit bureau and identity data so you are buying a decision, not assembling data sources. Entry pricing is £250 per month, scaling with volume; we quote against your actual mix.
Common questions
How much does open banking cost?
Pricing is usually based on volume rather than a fixed licence. Providers charge per connection, per API call, per user or as a platform fee. Credit Canary's entry pricing starts at £250 per month and scales with volume; a quote depends on your mix of data and payments.
What drives the cost of open banking?
Mainly volume: how many connections or payments you run. Cost is also affected by whether you need data, payments or both, the depth of enrichment, and the support and compliance wrapped around it.
Are there hidden costs in open banking?
The headline access price can hide the real costs: categorisation and enrichment quality, consent management, support and integration effort. A cheap raw feed that needs heavy clean-up can cost more in total than a priced-up enriched service.
Is open banking cheaper than cards?
For payments, account-to-account avoids card scheme and interchange fees, so it is often cheaper, particularly at higher values. The saving depends on your volumes and average transaction size.
Related pages
Primary sources
- openbanking.org.uk, What is open banking (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.