In the modern digital world, open banking’s data sharing makes switching bank accounts easier, breaking down walls between institutions. Despite this innovation, FinTech companies encounter challenges from traditional banking that significantly slow down their growth. 

This article explores overcoming these challenges and highlights open banking’s disruptive potential for FinTech.

Traditional finance limitations for FinTech

The influence of traditional institutions has been strong for a long time, as they have dominated markets and set the standard for how things are done. However, with technology disrupting industries globally, FinTech startups have emerged as strong competitors, challenging the existing norms and pushing the boundaries of innovation. 

Reliance on traditional data sources can impose significant constraints on the innovation and growth potential of FinTech companies due to several key factors:

Limited scope of data

Traditional data sources usually consist of structured data from internal banking systems, credit bureaus, and regulatory filings. Although this data offers valuable insights into historical financial transactions business lending and creditworthiness, it often needs more detail and depth. FinTech companies need a wider range of data to create innovative solutions that meet the changing needs and preferences of consumers.

Lack of real-time insights

Traditional data sources may not offer insights into consumer behavior and market trends in real-time or near-real time. FinTech companies operating in fast-paced environments need timely data to make informed decisions and develop responsive solutions. Without access to real-time data, FinTech firms may struggle to stay competitive and agile in dynamic market conditions.

Inability to capture non-financial data

Financial transactions are just one part of consumer behavior. Traditional data sources often miss non-financial factors that affect financial decision-making. FinTech companies aiming to provide personalized financial solutions need access to a wide range of data, including social media activity, lifestyle preferences, and demographic information. 

Core concepts of open banking

Open banking has transformed the financial industry by facilitating secure customer data sharing among banks, non-bank financial entities, and third-party financial service providers. But what are the core principles of this financial model?

What is open banking?

Open banking is a financial services model that allows third-party developers to access financial data in traditional banking systems through application programming interfaces (APIs).

The open sector is continuously growing as more financial institutions and service providers embrace the principles of transparency and collaboration. According to Statista, the value of open banking transactions worldwide is estimated to grow by more than 500 percent between 2023 and 2027.

Value of open banking transactions in 2023, with a forecast for 2027

Source: Statista

This growth is fueled by the increasing demand for personalized and personal finance management and innovative financial solutions among consumers.

The core principles of open banking

Three core principles underpin open banking:

1. Real-time data sharing: This allows authorized third-party providers to securely access your financial data, including transaction history, account balances, and other relevant information, with your explicit consent. This data is shared electronically and updated frequently, enabling a real-time view of your finances.
2. Openness through APIs: Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) act as the bridge between banks and third-party providers. These APIs provide a standardized way for authorized providers to access your financial data securely, streamlining the process and ensuring compatibility.

3. Customer control: Users can choose which third-party providers can access the information and have the right to revoke access at any time. Open banking allows to leverage the financial data for personalized services without compromising the user’s privacy.

With an API-first approach to connect financial institutions with third-party providers, open banking is similar to Banking as a service (BaaS). While both models use technology to improve financial services, they serve different needs within the same financial institution and ecosystem.

Open banking vs BaaS

The difference between open banking and Banking-as-a-service (BaaS): 

Simply put, the key difference between them is that open banking is about sharing users’ data, while BaaS is about accessing banking features.

Open banking use cases empowering FinTech

Open banking serves as a catalyst for innovation in the financial sector, empowering FinTech companies to revolutionize traditional services. This unlocks a world of possibilities for innovative financial products and services, all focused on improving the user experience. Below we explore the most popular open banking use cases:

Enhanced customer onboarding & KYC

Gone are the days of lengthy paperwork and tedious verification processes. Open banking allows FinTechs to access user data with consent, streamlining  KYC  procedures.

SDK.finance provides pre-built functionalities to seamlessly integrate with open banking APIs, verifying user identities and extracting relevant information electronically. This translates to a faster and more convenient bank account setup experience for users.

Personalized financial products

With access to real-time financial data through open banking APIs, FinTech companies can analyze user behavior and preferences to offer personalized financial products and services tailored to individual needs.

Whether it’s personalized budgeting tools, investment recommendations, or insurance offerings, open banking empowers FinTech companies to deliver hyper-targeted solutions that resonate with users on a personal level.

Streamlined loan and credit scoring

Traditionally, loan approvals could be slow and cumbersome. Open banking data allows FinTech lending platforms to access a more holistic view of a borrower’s financial health. This can include income verification, spending habits, and creditworthiness indicators.

Automated wealth management

Open banking data enables FinTech firms to develop automated investment and wealth management solutions that leverage real-time financial data to optimize portfolio performance and mitigate risks.

By harnessing the power of open banking, FinTech companies can democratize access to sophisticated wealth management tools and empower users to achieve their financial goals with confidence.

Open finance ecosystem

Open banking fosters collaboration between FinTechs and traditional financial institutions. This creates an open finance ecosystem, where  FinTechs can offer innovative services by integrating with existing financial infrastructure.

SDK.finance Platform acts as a bridge, facilitating integration with other financial services. It comes equipped with pre-integrated vendors for key functionalities such as payment acceptance, card issuance, and KYC compliance. This streamlined integration process ensures a hassle-free setup for your financial operations.

Implementing open banking with SDK.finance

The world of FinTech is booming, but building the infrastructure for your payment product can be a time-consuming and expensive endeavor.  SDK.finance cuts through the complexity, offering a scalable FinTech solution that gets your PayTech product launched faster and more cost-effectively.

For FinTech companies seeking to leverage open banking in their applications, SDK.finance offers a powerful Platform that simplifies integration and streamlines development. Here’s why SDK.finance is a valuable asset:

• Faster time to market: Pre-built APIs for open banking functionalities eliminate the need to build everything from scratch. This translates to significant time savings and faster application launch.
• Scalable infrastructure: Our Platform boasts a workload capacity of a staggering 2700 TPS (transactions per second). This translates to effortlessly processing over 233 million daily transactions on a basic configuration.
• Hybrid cloud architecture: The main application resides in the public cloud for scalability, while your sensitive financial data remains securely stored in your database, ensuring top-tier security and meeting strict data residency requirements.
• Enhanced security: Security is paramount when dealing with financial data. SDK.finance prioritizes data security with robust encryption protocols, access controls, and compliance with industry regulations.

SDK.finance serves as a ready-made FinTech solution, allowing payment companies to seamlessly integrate open banking functionalities into their applications while maintaining the highest security standards.

Wrapping up

Open banking has brought about a new era of financial empowerment, changing the way we manage our money. By allowing secure data sharing and encouraging collaboration, it has paved the way for a range of innovative FinTech solutions.

With SDK.finance’s ready-made infrastructure, streamlined open banking integration, and robust security features, you can focus on building user-centric financial solutions that improve lives and revolutionize the financial landscape.