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What is open finance?
Open finance refers to the secure, consumer-permissioned sharing of financial data across banks, fintechs, and financial service providers using standardized application programming interfaces (APIs). It enables individuals and businesses to access and use their financial data across multiple fintech apps without sharing login credentials.
As consumer expectations for transparency, portability, and control over financial data continue to grow, open finance has emerged as a foundational model for modern financial services. In the United States and globally, open finance is reshaping how financial institutions, fintechs, and third parties exchange data, moving the industry away from screen scraping and toward more secure, auditable, and scalable data access.
How open finance works
Open finance operates on a set of shared principles designed to improve security, transparency, and consumer control. At its foundation are explicit consumer authorization, API-based data access, and technical standards that allow financial institutions and third parties to exchange data reliably. Together, these elements form the operational center of modern open finance ecosystems.
Consumer-permissioned data access
In an open finance model, consumers explicitly authorize which financial data is shared, with which third parties, and for how long. This consent-based approach gives individuals ongoing visibility into data access and the ability to revoke permissions at any time.
Blogs
A consumer's guide to open finance
The role of purposeful friction in open finance
Webinar
Empowering consumers everywhere — Future-proof your open finance strategy
APIs instead of screen scraping
Rather than relying on credential-based methods like screen scraping, open finance uses secure APIs to enable data sharing. This approach improves reliability, reduces security risk, and gives financial institutions greater transparency into how data is accessed and used.
Blogs
The rise of secure data sharing: APIs vs. screen scraping
Rethinking data aggregation for a new era of open finance
Webinar
Driving fintech growth through smarter data access strategies
Industry standards and interoperability
Open finance relies on industry standards to ensure consistent data formats, authorization flows, and security practices across participants. In the United States, standards such as Financial Data Exchange (FDX) help enable interoperability at scale.
Blogs
Akoya and FDX: Advancing secure open finance solutions
Understanding the role of open finance platforms
Webinar
Lessons learned architecting open finance for growth and inclusion
Open finance vs. open banking
Open finance and open banking are closely related, but they differ in scope and application. While open banking initiatives typically focus on access to bank account data, open finance extends these same principles to a broader range of financial products. Understanding this distinction helps clarify how open finance supports more comprehensive financial experiences.
Key differences and scope
Open banking generally centers on checking, savings, and payment accounts, whereas open finance includes additional products such as investments, credit cards, and loans.
Blogs
Open banking vs. open finance: What’s the real difference?
Credit unions can compete, grow, and win member loyalty with open banking
Risk management and privacy considerations
Both open banking and open finance require strong controls to manage third-party risk and protect consumer data, particularly as the number of connected applications grows.
Blogs
Streamlining third-party risk management for open banking
Consumer privacy is essential for open banking
Open banking — Transforming member experience for credit unions
Webinar
Why open finance matters
Open finance creates value across the financial ecosystem by improving consumer trust, enabling innovation, and helping institutions modernize how data is shared. Its impact is felt differently by consumers, financial institutions, and fintechs, but the underlying benefits are closely connected.
For consumers
Section 1033 establishes a consumer’s right to access and share their financial data with authorized third parties.
Blogs
A consumer's guide to open finance
A better way for banks, fintechs, and customers to embrace open finance
Webinar
Empowering consumers everywhere — Future-proof your open finance strategy
For financial institutions
Financial institutions use open finance to replace fragile data access methods, improve security and oversight, and meet rising customer expectations around data control.
Blogs
Open finance is not optional — Why transparency, trust, and APIs win
Understanding the role of open finance platforms
How to build for growth and inclusion
For fintechs and developers
For fintechs and developers, open finance enables more reliable product development by providing standardized, permissioned access to financial data.
Blogs
Why APIs are the growth engine that fintechs can't afford to ignore
Rethinking data aggregation for a new era of open finance
Webinar
Driving fintech growth through smarter data access strategies
Open finance in the United States
In the U.S., open finance is closely tied to consumer data rights and regulatory efforts such as Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Consumer data rights and Section 1033
Section 1033 establishes a consumer’s right to access and share their financial data with authorized third parties.
Blogs
Final 1033 Rule: Challenges and opportunities for financial institutions
Preparing for CFPB Section 1033 compliance: Is your financial institution ready?
Simplify section 1033 compliance
Webinars
1033 compliance is a complex issue that demands a multi-faceted solution
It's time to act. Prioritize 1033 compliance for your customers
Section 1033 compliance for financial institutions
Operational and compliance readiness
Successfully implementing open finance requires operational planning, ongoing investment, and the ability to manage compliance as requirements evolve.
Blogs
Reducing complexity in open banking compliance
How Akoya's managed services help ensure open banking compliance
Webinars
1033 compliance is a complex issue that demands a multi-faceted solution
Open finance compliance series (webinars)
Tools
Open finance readiness assessment
Open finance readiness worksheet
Security, privacy, and consent in open finance
Security, privacy, and consent management are foundational to building trust in open finance ecosystems. By eliminating credential sharing and emphasizing transparency, open finance helps reduce risk while giving consumers clearer insight into how their data is used.
Eliminating credential sharing and reducing risk
API-based access reduces reliance on shared credentials and improves visibility into data flows, helping institutions better manage risk.
Blogs
The rise of secure data sharing: APIs vs. screen scraping
A better way for banks, fintechs, and customers to embrace open finance
Privacy, transparency, and user control
Open finance frameworks emphasize ongoing consent and transparency so consumers can understand and control who has access to their data.
Blogs
The role of purposeful friction in open finance
Consumer privacy is essential for open banking
Webinar
Open finance FAQs
Q: How is open finance different from open banking?
Open banking typically focuses on bank account data — checking and savings accounts — while open finance extends secure, consumer-permissioned data sharing to a broader range of financial products, including investments, credit cards, loans, and insurance. Open finance also encompasses a wider set of services for financial institutions, such as third-party vetting, consent management, and ongoing compliance support.
Q: Is open finance the same as screen scraping?
No. Open finance replaces screen scraping with secure, API-based data access. Consumers never share their login credentials with third parties. Instead, data is exchanged through tokenized, OAuth-based connections that give financial institutions full transparency into which third parties access data, what data is shared, and for how long.
Q: What role does consumer consent play in open finance?
Consumer consent is foundational. In an open finance model, individuals explicitly approve what data is shared, with whom, and for how long. They maintain ongoing visibility into data access and can revoke permissions at any time. This consent-based approach is required under Section 1033 and is central to how Akoya's Open Finance Solution manages data sharing on behalf of financial institutions.
Q: Is open finance required by regulation in the United States?
Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act establishes consumer rights to access and share financial data, requiring financial institutions to provide secure data access through developer interfaces. The regulatory timeline is still evolving, but the direction is clear and financial institutions are already preparing. Regardless of the final compliance dates, open finance adoption reflects broader industry goals around security, reliability, and customer experience that are driving implementation now.
Q: Why are financial institutions moving away from screen scraping?
Screen scraping requires consumers to share their login credentials with third parties, creating security vulnerabilities and limiting institutional visibility into data access. It can also drive significant bot traffic — up to 51% of a bank's online traffic according to industry research. API-based open finance eliminates credential sharing entirely, gives institutions full control over third-party access, and helps meet regulatory expectations under Section 1033.
Q: What standards are commonly used in open finance?
In the United States, Financial Data Exchange (FDX) standards are widely used to support secure, interoperable, API-based financial data sharing. FDX provides standardized data formats, authorization flows, and security practices that enable consistent data exchange across financial institutions, aggregators, and fintechs. Akoya's APIs are FDX-aligned, ensuring institutions meet current interoperability standards and can adapt as those standards evolve.
Q: What is an open finance solution for banks?
An open finance solution for banks is a platform that provides financial institutions with the technology and services needed to securely share consumer-permissioned data with authorized third parties. Solutions range from API tools that banks must build around and manage themselves, to fully managed platforms that handle the entire lifecycle. Akoya's Open Finance Solution is a turnkey, white-labeled platform that includes a developer portal, admin console, third-party vetting, legal agreement management, consent tools, and 24/7 support, allowing banks and credit unions to comply with Section 1033 and FDX standards without building infrastructure in-house.
Q: What is Section 1033 and how does it affect banks?
Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires financial institutions to make consumer financial data available to authorized third parties through secure developer interfaces. Banks must implement several capabilities to comply: a developer portal for third-party onboarding, security and risk review processes, legal agreement management, consumer consent and revocation tools, and FDX-aligned APIs. While the final compliance timeline is still being determined, the regulatory direction is clear and financial institutions are actively preparing. Banks can build these capabilities in-house or use a managed open finance solution like Akoya's.
Q: How do banks comply with Section 1033?
Compliance requires establishing a developer interface that allows authorized third parties to access consumer-permissioned data via secure APIs. This involves standing up a developer portal, creating third-party vetting and risk review processes, managing legal agreements, building consent management tools, and providing ongoing support to data recipients. Building in-house typically takes 12 to 18 months or more. Managed open finance solutions like Akoya's provide all of these capabilities as end-to-end services, white-labeled to the financial institution's brand.
Q: What is the difference between building open finance in-house and using a managed solution?
Building in-house means the financial institution develops its own developer portal, third-party vetting processes, legal agreements, consent management tools, API infrastructure, and ongoing support operations. This requires significant time, investment, and ongoing maintenance as standards and regulations evolve. A managed solution provides all of these capabilities as a service. Akoya's Open Finance Solution, for example, handles third-party due diligence, contract administration, security reviews, annual recertification, technical support, and compliance updates — allowing institutions to go live faster and focus on serving customers rather than managing open finance operations.
Q: How does Akoya's Open Finance Solution work?
Akoya's Open Finance Solution is a turnkey, white-labeled platform for banks and credit unions. It includes four core components: a Developer Portal where third parties discover, test, and connect to the financial institution's APIs; an Admin Console where the institution reviews and manages all third-party relationships; a Consumer Permission Dashboard where customers view, manage, and revoke data sharing permissions directly from their bank's app; and branded API Documentation with guides, sample specs, and test environments. Beyond technology, Akoya provides managed services including security and risk reviews, data access agreement administration, and 24/7 high-touch support for all authorized data recipients.
Q: How does open finance help banks manage third-party risk?
Open finance gives financial institutions centralized visibility and control over third-party data access. Through a managed solution, banks can vet third parties through structured security and risk reviews, administer standardized legal agreements, monitor API usage and data sharing activity through reporting dashboards, and revoke access when necessary. Akoya's Open Finance Solution manages this entire lifecycle on the institution's behalf — including due diligence, annual recertification, contract administration, and ongoing support — reducing the operational burden on internal risk and compliance teams.
Open finance solutions
For organizations looking to move from education to implementation, Akoya provides solutions designed to support secure, consumer-permissioned open finance.
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