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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
How is open finance different from open banking?
Open banking typically focuses on bank account data, such as checking and savings accounts, while open finance extends secure data sharing to a broader range of financial products, including investments, credit cards, and loans.
Is open finance the same as screen scraping?
No. Open finance replaces screen scraping with secure, API-based data access that does not require consumers to share their login credentials with third parties.
What role does consumer consent play in open finance?
Consumer consent is foundational to open finance. Individuals explicitly approve what data is shared, with whom, and for how long, and they can revoke access at any time.
Is open finance required by regulation in the United States?
U.S. regulations such as Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act establish consumer rights to access and share financial data, but open finance adoption also reflects broader goals around security, reliability, and consumer experience.
Why are financial institutions moving away from screen scraping?
Screen scraping can introduce security risks, limit visibility into data access, and create operational challenges. API-based open finance offers a more secure, reliable, and auditable alternative.
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.
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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