You’ve read about it. You’ve heard it on the news. Your overeager friend who works at HSBC talks about it constantly. But what actually is Open Banking? 

Since 2018, banks have been required to share their users’ data - when users ask them to -  in a safe, secure way, with third-party companies and apps – literally ‘opening up’ banking data for the benefit of both bank users and businesses.

Open Banking shares information through APIs, which stands for Application Programming Interface. Put simply, an API is a messenger that tells an app or website what you, the user wants to do, and then returns the response back to you. APIs are used in most apps and websites you use frequently, from Google Maps to Instagram and even when you’re booking flights online. 

Without the help of APIs, you’d have to pass on your data manually by sharing your login details. APIs do this for you, but in a far more secure way.

Speaking of secure, we’d like to reassure you that Open Banking is safe.

Only businesses approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are allowed to use Open Banking, and have to follow strict rules about how they operate and take care of your data. 

You’ll always be in full control of your data. You can request for us to access your bank data for you, and can cancel this access whenever you like. And most importantly, you’ll never be asked to share password or login details with anyone but your bank. 

For more on the safety of Open Banking, head here. 

Why Open Banking is a game-changer for us

At Curve, we believe things work better when they’re connected. Wifi, flatpack furniture, people. And we believe money is no different. We’ve already combined your cards into one, and centralised your spending in one place. Now, with Open Banking, we’re taking it to the next level for our UK customers by connecting your account balances too. 

Say you’ve got a Monzo account. You can see that you’ve just spent £999 on an iPhone, but you can’t see if you’ve got enough money to pay for lunch after. 

Open Banking (via Curve) will make that possible by showing all your bank balances in one place.  

With all this insight under one umbrella, it’s the next step for Curve to truly simplify and unify your money – and help you make even more informed choices when it comes to spending.

We hope that helped. If you’d like to learn more about Open Banking, check out this page. Or, you can chat to us in-app or drop us a DM on Twitter @AskCurve 🐦