Open Banking

What Open Banking does

Open Banking Limited (OBL) is the UK standards-setting body and ecosystem coordinator for open banking, launched in January 2018 under PSD2 and the CMA Order and headquartered in London. OBL is a private, non-profit company owned and funded by the CMA9 banks (the nine largest UK deposit-takers), with a board that includes independent non-executive directors such as the Rt Hon John Glen MP and Sean Martin. Its functional role is to design, maintain, and evolve the technical and customer-experience standards that enable secure, standardized data sharing between banks and authorized third-party providers across the UK.

OBL's core offerings comprise the Open Banking Standard (currently v4.0.1), which defines API specifications (Read/Write API, Open Data API, Dynamic Client Registration, Directory specifications, MI Reporting), security profiles (FAPI, CIBA), operational guidelines, and Customer Experience Guidelines. The Open Banking Directory provides the enrollment, authentication, and connection management layer for participants, including 88 Account Providers and 242 Third-Party Providers. Supporting capabilities include Variable Recurring Payments (with commercial VRPs launched in Q1 2026), a Developer Zone with sandbox and conformance certification, and an App Store listing regulated providers. In 2025, the infrastructure processed 24 billion API calls, with 53% year-on-year growth in payment initiation volumes.

OBL's business model is that of an industry-funded standards body rather than a commercial product company. Revenue derives from CMA9 bank funding and ecosystem participation services through the Directory, with no direct consumer pricing or subscription tiers. The economic activity OBL enables is substantial: £8.3 billion in cumulative economic value since 2018, £159 million in annual payment use cases today (projected to £4.4 billion at full adoption), £3.8 billion in annual business savings through automation, and up to £43 billion annual potential at full maturity per EY analysis. Strategic positioning is shifting from open banking to open finance under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, with the FCA selecting OBL to lead the Future Entity role following a KPMG assessment scoring it 63.88 out of 76 against the Smart Data Group's 46.

Name

Open Banking

Legal name

Open Banking Limited

Website

http://www.openbanking.org.uk/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Open Banking Limited is the UK standards-setting body for open banking, coordinating a regulated ecosystem of 330 providers and 17.5 million monthly users through API specifications, the Open Banking Directory, and security profiles, and is the FCA-selected candidate to lead the Future Entity under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Banking Infrastructure

NAICS

Offices of Bank Holding Companies (551111)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Finance Expansion (investments, pensions, insurance, utilities data) (FSAGACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Open Banking APIs & Connectivity (FSAMAFAA), Open Banking, Account Aggregation & Payment Initiation APIs (BPAMAFAJ), Identity & Authentication for Open Banking (SCA support, token exchange) (FSAGACAF), Transaction Analytics & Cash-Flow Insights (risk signals, forecasting) (FSAGACAG), A2A Checkout & Merchant Acceptance Solutions (FSAMAFAF), Open Banking / Bank Data Underwriting (Consumer) (FSAKAKAF), Data Quality, Monitoring & Observability (uptime, latency, reconciliation) (FSAGACAL)

Keywords

• Open banking standards
• Financial API specifications
• Payment initiation services
• Account information services
• Open finance infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Payment Use Case Transaction Value: Open Banking delivers £159 million annually in payment use cases, with projections reaching £4.4 billion at full adoption. This represents the economic value flowing through the open banking infrastructure for payment initiation services.
2. Economic Impact Value Creation: Research by Open Banking Limited and EY estimates the combined economic impact of open banking and open finance could reach £7.4 billion per year within five years, with potential to deliver up to £43 billion annually at full maturity.
3. Ecosystem Participation Services: Open Banking Limited facilitates ecosystem participation through the Directory, enabling ASPSPs, TPPs, and TSPs to connect and offer open banking-enabled products and services. Revenue is generated through regulatory oversight and standards administration rather than direct product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Open Banking Limited operates as the UK's standards-setting body and ecosystem coordinator for open banking, developing and maintaining the Open Banking Standard (API specifications, security profiles such as FAPI and CIBA, and operational guidelines), running the Open Banking Directory for participant enrollment, and supporting ecosystem participants including Account Providers, Third Party Providers, and Technical Service Providers in implementing secure, standardized financial data sharing and payment initiation services.

Product overview

Open Banking Limited operates as the standards body for the UK open banking ecosystem, managing a portfolio of specifications, tools, and services that enable secure data sharing between banks and third-party providers. The core offering is the Open Banking Standard, which comprises API specifications, security profiles (FAPI, CIBA), and operational guidelines. Supporting this are the Open Banking Directory for participant management, Customer Experience Guidelines for application design, and Variable Recurring Payments capabilities. Developer tools include a sandbox environment and conformance certification service. The ecosystem currently supports 330 regulated providers, 88 account providers, and 242 third-party providers, processing over 33 million monthly payments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open Banking Standard Technical specification governing how banks and financial institutions implement open banking APIs in the UK, including API specifications, security profiles (FAPI, CIBA), and operational guidelines. Used by financial institutions to comply with PSD2, RTS, and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
• Open Banking Directory

Quantifiable outcome

• £159 million annual value from payment use cases today, projected to £4.4 billion at full adoption
• +7 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• KPMGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026KPMG conducted an independent assessment of Open Banking Limited and the Smart Data Group proposals for the Future Entity role, commissioned by the FCA. OBL received a weighted score of 63.88 out of 76, outperforming the Smart Data Group's score of 46.
• EYcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026EY conducted economic analysis for Open Banking Limited estimating that open banking could deliver up to £43 billion annually at full maturity, compared with £8.3 billion in cumulative benefits already realized. Research projects annual benefits of £7.4 billion within five years.
• UK FinancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026UK Finance, supported by Deloitte, published a commercial model proposal for 'Wave 2' commercial variable recurring payments (cVRPs) focusing on ecommerce use cases. This partnership defines fee structures and purchase protection options for the next phase of VRP implementation.
• UK Payments Initiative LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026UK Finance shared the Wave 2 cVRP commercial model report with UK Payments Initiative Ltd as input for commercial model decisions, with the first cVRP transactions expected in 2026.
• HMRCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026HMRC became the first tax authority in the world to fully integrate Open Banking into its systems in 2021, launching payment initiation services. Within 10 months, over one million payments worth over £3 billion were processed.
• HM TreasurycoreOthersHM Treasury is collaborating on the National Payments Vision and Payments Vision Delivery Committee, with plans to introduce legislation under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 granting FCA new rulemaking powers for open banking and open finance.
• Bank of EnglandcoreOthersThe Bank of England is part of the Payments Vision Delivery Committee combining HM Treasury, the FCA, and the PSR to coordinate payment infrastructure modernization.
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)coreOthersThe FCA selected Open Banking Limited to lead the Future Entity following its evaluation, and is working with HM Treasury to develop the regulatory framework for open finance by end of 2027.
• Payment Systems Regulator (PSR)coreOthersThe PSR is part of the Payments Vision Delivery Committee and is exploring expansion of Variable Recurring Payments in regulated sectors and government, with plans to consolidate the PSR into the FCA.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Konsentus: A UK-based open banking API management and regulatory technology provider offering TPP verification and directory services. Operates as a commercial TSP supporting the ecosystem OBL oversees, with overlapping Directory-adjacent functionality.
• Yapily: A UK-headquartered open banking infrastructure provider offering a single API for account access and payment initiation. Operates as a regulated TPP/TSP inside OBL's ecosystem and is a relevant commercial counterpart for API access.
• TrueLayer: A UK- and EU-focused open banking API platform offering account information and payment initiation services. Operates as a commercial TPP and TSP within the ecosystem OBL governs, making it a downstream participant rather than a direct competitor.
• Token.io: A UK-based open banking payments and account data platform focused on A2A payments and VRPs. Directly relevant as a commercial actor using OBL standards to deliver variable recurring payment use cases at scale.

Broad incumbents

• Plaid: A global open banking/financial data connectivity platform serving thousands of fintechs and banks. Comparable to OBL as an enabler of bank-to-third-party data connectivity, though operating a commercial product model rather than a non-profit standards body.
• Tink: A European open banking platform (owned by Visa) that provides PSD2 connectivity and account aggregation across multiple EU markets. Comparable as a major TSP implementing the same underlying standards OBL helps define.

Direct peers

• STET: France's principal open banking standards and infrastructure operator, running the core PSD2 API platform for the French market. Comparable to OBL as a regulated, bank-owned standards and infrastructure body operating at national level.
• Financial Data Exchange (FDX): A US-based industry consortium defining the FDX API standard for consumer-permissioned financial data sharing. It is the closest US analogue to OBL, providing a multi-stakeholder specification framework rather than a commercial product.
• Berlin Group: A pan-European standards body that defines NextGenPSD2 and other open banking API specifications. It is the closest international peer to OBL, operating a similar non-profit, industry-coordinated standards model across multiple European jurisdictions.

Others

• FDATA Global: An industry advocacy body representing consumer-facing financial data aggregators and fintechs across multiple jurisdictions. Comparable to OBL in ecosystem-coordination role, though focused on policy advocacy rather than technical standards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/UKOpenBanking
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCT9erGA7eYRU-kkG-HA1MQQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/UKOpenBanking
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/openbanking
• Instagraminstagram.com/ukopenbanking

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Banking