Open Banking

Open Banking is a Government-backed technology that enables you to speedily and securely share access to your financial information with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated providers. It was introduced in the UK to give you convenient ways to manage and move your money and encourage innovative new products and services that will help customers and small- to medium-sized businesses get a better deal.

During the Open Banking process, your bank will ask you to log in and verify your identity as normal. Once you’ve done that, they’ll ask you to confirm that you’re happy to share this information. It’s important to remember that your bank will only share the specific financial information that’s requested with Atom — we never have access to your login details.

When you’ve given the green light, we connect to your account using Open Banking APIs. An API — or Application Programming Interface — is a software intermediary that allows two applications to securely talk to each other.

In a nutshell, it’s like sending in paper-based bank statements, but faster, simpler and safer.

Put simply, Open Banking will speed up your banking experience. Because we’ll be able to access the most up to date financial information almost instantly, we can process everything more quickly, ensuring you’re not left waiting. Your life will also be made a lot easier by the fact it removes the need to organise and submit paperwork.

The journey to connect your accounts should only take a couple of minutes and is a quicker and safer way of providing financial information.

Sharing your account history with Atom is essentially the same as sharing the information found in your paper or online bank statements. We see your:

• Account details
• Balance
• Account transactions

We never have access to your login details.

Credit Kudos is an Account Information Service Provider (AISP) regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (ref. 770345 and 795791) that we partner with. By using their platform, we can integrate directly to your personal current and / or business accounts.

Yes, you will still be able to submit paper accounts the same way as previously, however the process will take longer than using Open Banking.

We’re trying to make our lending journey as speedy, simple and safe as possible. Quickly sharing your financial information without the need to post or scan in paper based documents will mean a quicker turnaround in lending decisions. Ultimately it’ll allow us to provide you with the money you need much faster.

We can connect with many other banks through Open Banking, including: Halifax, Lloyds, Natwest, RBS, Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, Santander, TSB, Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, AIB Corporate, AIB Retail, Danske Business, First Direct, FTB Corporate, FTB Retail, Marks & Spencer, Monzo, Tesco Bank, Virgin Money, Revolut, Yorkshire Building Society, TransferWise, Starling, Tide and Think Money.

UK banks and building societies have been required to make their customer data accessible to regulated and licensed third parties since the 13th January 2018. They’ve altered their T&Cs to reflect this change.

Simply head to the official Open Banking website. Organisations including Money Savings Expert, Which?, Money Advice Service and the Financial Conduct Authority have also published guides on Open Banking.

We’ll only use your information as required to support the provision and servicing of your loan. Rest assured, Open Banking has been designed with security at its core:

• By connecting your bank account, your data is protected via robust bank grade security protocols using rigorously tested software and security systems. You’ll never be asked to give access to your bank login details or password to anyone other than your own bank or building society.
• Only providers authorised and regulated by the FCA can use Open Banking.
• You’re in charge — you choose to opt in and give permission for us to access your data.
• You’re fully protected by data protection laws and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

We will only access your data on a one-off basis, either at the point of making a lending decision or when carrying out an annual review of your account. When linking your account, you are providing us with consent to access your transactional information.

For more information about how we use and store your data, you read our privacy and data policy.