Definition
Open banking enables third-party fintech providers to access and leverage bank data through regulated APIs, reducing friction in payments, lending, and financial services. Built on standards like PSD2 (EU), OAuth, and open protocols enabling multi-provider financial ecosystems.
Key Components
- Pay by Bank: Direct bank-to-bank payment without card intermediaries; user authentication via bank credentials
- Account Aggregation: Consolidated view of accounts across multiple banks
- Payment Initiation: Third-party apps triggering bank transfers on behalf of users
- Data Sharing: Secure access to transaction history, balances, account details
Market Drivers
- Cost Reduction: Lower transaction fees vs. card networks
- Speed: Near-real-time settlement vs. ACH delays
- User Experience: Unified dashboard across multiple financial providers
- Regulatory Mandate: PSD2 (Europe) requires banks to open APIs
Recent M&A Context (2026)
- 2026-09-14: chift raises €10.5M Series A for financial-apis connecting AI agents to 120+ European financial systems (2026-09-14-chift-series-a-tech-eu-primary)
Mollie’s €1.1 billion acquisition of GoCardless (Sep 2026) combines:
- Mollie: Card acquiring + local payments
- GoCardless: Direct Debit + Pay by Bank across 38 countries
Combined entity positioning open banking as core offering across 350,000+ businesses.