Challenger business Bank

[SeanT]

Wow, does that mean that banks will have to actually add value to get customers?

[soconnor]

Freeagent, Xero, Sage, all good products...

Doesn't Freeagent do that already?

Hi @northernladuk, cloud accounting packages are great for certain types of self-employed people and businesses. But they are stuck with really poor data from banks. We will integrate with all of the above to provide categorised transactions with evidence attached. This will achieve a level of automation that's not currently possible. We want customers to be able to use whatever tools and packages they want to alongside our bank account.

[soconnor]

Open Banking

Our condolences to Alex Speller - one time Freelance CTO and still on your website.

Is all this to do with https://www.evry.com/en/news/article...as-we-know-it/?

Hi Cirrus, Alex Speller is an old pal who was doing a few bits for us when we started out. Alas, he has chosen to live the dream in the south of France. We couldn't blame him really.

Open banking is really exciting. Here's an article I wrote on it: Open banking will give freelancers a wealthier future. — hubbul

We're going to form part of the banking infrastructure and will be open ourselves. We want to work closely with the developer community to innovate.

Our customers will also benefit from high street banks being more open under the Open Banking or PSD2 rules. For example, we will access to data from your existing bank accounts where authorised. This lends itself to some cool features like deducting part of your mortgage/rent payments from your tax bill automatically.

Sam

[soconnor]

Yeah

Wow, does that mean that banks will have to actually add value to get customers?

It's about time banks did more for customers!

[squarepeg]

Open banking is really exciting. Here's an article I wrote on it: Open banking will give freelancers a wealthier future. — hubbul

We're going to form part of the banking infrastructure and will be open ourselves. We want to work closely with the developer community to innovate.

Our customers will also benefit from high street banks being more open under the Open Banking or PSD2 rules. For example, we will access to data from your existing bank accounts where authorised. This lends itself to some cool features like deducting part of your mortgage/rent payments from your tax bill automatically.

Sam

Agreed. PSD2 is something that will change the FS industry, but I would advise anyone who is thinking of using the new APIs to carefully read the legislation and get in touch with OpenBanking.org.uk asap to find out what the legal and the regulatory requirements will be.

[Cirrus]

More Pie in The Sky

Open banking is really exciting. Here's an article I wrote on it: Open banking will give freelancers a wealthier future. — hubbul

Apart from being a naturally sceptical person I happened to have managed an API project recently. It was for small companies like contractors. The idea was your insurances could be adjusted to match your turnover, number of employees, type of business etc. This information would come from your accounting provider.

Accounting providers already have APIs. The problem is however, they are accounting providers not insurance providers. We could never find the data we needed and there was always the fundamental problem that people are not motivated to provide data that suits you rather than is essential to their objectives.

With banks you will have some data but good luck with trying to turn that into useful information.

You'll have company account transactions (which don't directly relate to disposable income). You'll have to work out from the very limited descriptions what these are. Then of course you've got to look at personal accounts and do the same thing again. I have six bank accounts that contracting money flows through (mixed current, immediate access savings, 30-day savings, all times 2 for company and personal.). Then how do you evaluate wealth being stashed up as liquid assets - there's a big tax calculation challenge there?

Please don't bet your house on this. The current AI and FinTech bubbles are just fanciful.

[soconnor]

Open banking: short-term benefits overstated, long-term benefits understated

Apart from being a naturally sceptical person I happened to have managed an API project recently. It was for small companies like contractors. The idea was your insurances could be adjusted to match your turnover, number of employees, type of business etc. This information would come from your accounting provider.

Accounting providers already have APIs. The problem is however, they are accounting providers not insurance providers. We could never find the data we needed and there was always the fundamental problem that people are not motivated to provide data that suits you rather than is essential to their objectives.

With banks you will have some data but good luck with trying to turn that into useful information.

Please don't bet your house on this. The current AI and FinTech bubbles are just fanciful.

OK, so that's not my quote in the title. But yes, you're spot on about the short-term benefits of open banking. They will be quite limited.

That's why we're offering a bank account rather than relying on open banking. It means we get rich, real-time payments data that banks currently throw away. (Banks' management of data won't be solved by open banking).

Open Banking is a step in the right direction to make banks more competitive. But in the meantime challengers will create the value.

I'd also be really interested to chat to you if you have time. I'm on sam at get coconut dot com.

[soconnor]

Are you involved in Open Banking at all?

Agreed. PSD2 is something that will change the FS industry, but I would advise anyone who is thinking of using the new APIs to carefully read the legislation and get in touch with OpenBanking.org.uk asap to find out what the legal and the regulatory requirements will be.

Hey I run a Slack group for Fintech startups that working with Open Banking. If you're involved in a startup and interested I'd be happy to add you.

[kaiser78]

What are the charges for this service, or is it free banking as Santander used to offer (and still do for existing customers) ?

[SeanT]

Hey I run a Slack group for Fintech startups that working with Open Banking. If you're involved in a startup and interested I'd be happy to add you.

I'm on too many slack groups already, but yes please...