What is Open Banking and Why Do Bank Clients Like It?

Open banking is a financial service that allows third parties to act as intermediaries in facilitating financial transactions between banks and clients via the API.

The latter refers to the Application Programming Interface (API) technology that makes banking practice more convenient for consumers, as the platform links consumer accounts with different financial institutions and service providers. Mainly because data will be accessible to third-party providers who will carry out full completion of financial transactions between clients, consumers and financial institutions when initiated online.

Whereas before, clients can make same-day, real-time transfers of money to another bank account only if such account is maintained in the same banking institution In open banking, through the API of a third party intermediary, the fund transfer can take effect in real time even if the recipient account is maintained in a banking institution that is different from the transferring bank.

Other Potential Advantages of Open Banking

Open Banking technology has been proven as very useful as it provides a new alternative especially in times of pandemic:

1.  With open banking, it shows potential that it can increase sources of revenue as customers who engage in online income-earning opportunities will have increased capabilities to perform online transactions through financial institutions.

2.  Open banking can also assist money lenders in determining the customer’s financial circumstances and risk levels. The open data related to applicant-borrowers makes the evaluation and decision-making processes easier for lenders when giving consumers practical and manageable loan or credit terms.

3.  As smaller banks engage in open banking, the bigger and well-known banks would be constrained to make their rates and services more competitive against newer and unfamiliar banks. As a result, larger banks would be pressured in providing better client service, use newer technologies to decrease banking costs being shifted to clients.