As we head into the new year, we are highlighting a few topics that are top of mind for Mastercard Open Banking, and how we see the Open Banking landscape evolving over the next 12-24 months.  

At a Glance 

• Open Banking adoption continues to gain traction across the globe – This is a result of increased consumer, merchant, and biller appetite, regulations, borrower demand for a digital mortgage experience, and an increase in account-to-account (A2A) payments usage. As momentum accelerates, there is more emphasis on safeguarding consumer information and protecting against fraud in Open Banking.  

• A2A and alternative payment methods are increasing in usage all over the world – Open Banking enables a more seamless A2A experience, particularly in verticals like bill pay, disbursements, and recurring payments. However, there are some barriers that are preventing A2A from scaling.  

• Looking ahead, we see 4 key themes that are rising in importance in Open Banking – We anticipate that Open Banking will unlock opportunities for consumers and businesses to benefit from their data and allow companies to power next-generation personalized financial services by improving the financial experiences of small businesses, leveraging technology such as Generative AI which powers innovative new use cases (e.g., categorization, security/privacy), integrating closely with Real-time Payments (RTP), and enabling value-added services and personalization with the transition to Open Finance.

Mastercard’s strategy is centered on the trends we are seeing, where we think the Open Banking market is headed, and being a valued and trusted partner to our customers by enabling them to provide enhanced financial experiences to their end users. 

What we’re seeing in the market  

• Open Banking is on the rise around the world, driven by different tailwinds. Consumers want more automated and digitized ways to move money, to manage their finances (e.g., by viewing their financial data and unlocking actionable insights), and more transparency and control of their data. They are using Open Banking for topping up their investment accounts, funding their wallets, and applying for mortgages. Regulations, Open Banking players pushing forward innovative solutions, and the desire for seamless, enhanced financial experiences are all drivers of Open Banking. In Europe, Open Banking use is expected to double by 2027 and in the UK, 70% of consumers connect their financial accounts directly to tools to conduct financial tasks. In the U.S., 80% of consumers also already link their financial accounts. Open Banking in Australia is still relatively nascent, but 89% of B2B users report using Open Banking today. Brazil has been a trailblazer in Open Finance – there were 4.8B API calls in June 2023 in Brazil, four times the number of calls in the UK. We are cognizant that as Open Banking matures, more and more markets will adopt and accelerate its usage. At Mastercard, market expansion opportunities are evaluated where there is greatest demand, and we will innovate and test concepts in markets that are maturing. 

• Regulations are changing the landscape for Open Banking. Open Banking regulations are at different stages in key global markets. While Europe and the UK were some of the first to introduce Open Banking regulation with the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and later, Payment Services Regulation (PSR), other countries around the world are putting their own regulatory frameworks in place. For example, Canada’s Department of Finance (DoF) and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) are also working on elements of Open Banking regulation in the country. Several countries in Africa are adopting frameworks for Open Banking, and Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are launching innovative measures to test Open Banking solutions. Mexico and Brazil led the way in Latin America in establishing Open Banking regulations, with a particular focus on Open Finance and leveling the playing field between fintech startups and incumbent banks. We will continue to work across the ecosystem to support our customers, consumers and small businesses in navigating regulatory changes. 

• Borrower demand for digital mortgage experiences is increasing. Homebuyers in the U.S. are indicating that they are more interested in leveraging digital channels for mortgages. Those surveyed cited process acceleration (75%) and making the process easier (71%) as the top benefits of a digital mortgage process. Open Banking is key to powering these experiences – it allows lenders to securely collect financial data digitally, conduct more comprehensive assessments of an applicant’s financial health, and make more informed loan decisions. To meet consumer demands and streamline the lending process, Mastercard has collaborated with U.S. government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in connection with certain digital verification of asset, income and employment solutions. These new mortgage solutions are driving more demand for Open Banking and alternative data sources in lending.  

• A2A payment flows are becoming a more common way to pay. While there are multiple payment options available to consumers and businesses today (credit cards, debit cards, BNPL, cash, etc.), A2A payments are the second-most preferred payment choice for bill payment in the U.S. and are increasingly being adopted worldwide. On a global level, A2A payments for e-commerce are expected to grow at a 14% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) through 2027. Government-led schemes for A2A are proliferating its usage in countries including India (Unified Payments Interface), Brazil (PIX) and Thailand (PromptPay). Open Banking-powered A2A payments can transform the A2A experience by making it a seamless and secure way to pay – in particular, we’re seeing Open Banking powered payments pick up in verticals like bill pay, disbursements, recurring payments – where paying by ACH (traditional A2A method) has already been popular in the U.S., for example. Recognizing this market demand, we are partnering with players like JPMC and Worldpay in the U.S. to scale A2A for their customers. We are also continuing to explore innovative solutions that would enable the scaling of A2A globally – for example, Mastercard’s approach to Open Banking helps protect the ecosystem to make OB-enabled A2A payments seamless and secure. 

• Fraud and identity risk are top of mind. While Open Banking will provide new opportunities, like with any exchange of personal data online, there are also risks. As more people use digital channels for financial experiences, there is the possibility for fraudsters to find new ways to attack businesses and consumers. It is estimated that the worldwide costs of cybercrimes will reach $12T in 2025 and 94% of consumers surveyed say that it’s important that financial institutions keep consumer financial data secure. To ensure consumers feel safe using Open Banking and the experiences it powers, fraud mitigation plays a significant role – for example, leveraging identity verification and device intelligence at account opening, multi-factor authentication at sign in¹, and predictive risk signals for payments. At Mastercard, we remain committed to maintaining best-in-class security and data privacy for our Open Banking assets. This is why we are leveraging our rich network of global identity insights and device verification, and integrating them with our Open Banking offering. We believe Open Banking and fraud mitigation will continue to go hand-in-hand as the ecosystem matures.  

Spotlight on A2A Trend 

What are A2A Payments? 

• Account-to-Account (A2A) payments are electronic money transfers from one bank account to another.​ A2A payments can be initiated in two ways, either as a push payment — initiated by the party making the payment — or as a pull payment — initiated by the party collecting the payment. Many consumers already use A2A payments by simply sending money between their own bank accounts or transferring money to someone using platforms like PayPal or Cash App. The 4 main use cases for A2A are Bill Payments, Me2Me, Person to Merchant (P2M), and Person to Person (P2P): 

Growth in A2A is being driven by a number of factors:  

However, A2A payments are still experiencing some challenges to widespread adoption: 

• Suboptimal A2A checkout process:  A2A payment methods have either required consumers to input bank account numbers or login to their bank’s portal for each purchase, which can be time consuming and error prone. In countries where A2A has gotten more traction (e.g., India, Brazil), it has been primarily through QR code which is a suboptimal experience.  

• Inadequate consumer purchase protections compared to card:  Many A2A payment methods lack the same protections that card payments have, and that both consumers and merchants want. 

• Lack of trust: There is a lack of trust from some consumers towards A2A payments, because they have a familiarity with methods like credit and debit payments and are accustomed to their reliability and ubiquity.  
• Lack of scaled use by merchants: Merchants face certain risks with traditional A2A payments, including declines due to insufficient funds, unauthorized returns, etc.  

How does Open Banking enhance A2A?  

Without Open Banking: Traditional A2A is a clunky experience, as consumers need to either initiate bank transfers through their bank account directly or manually enter their banking account and routing number through a suboptimal checkout experience. In some markets, there is also limited transparency in payment settlement timing and risk of payment, for merchants/billers who are offering A2A to their customers. For example, merchants must manually verify customer bank accounts with micro-deposits, and there may be a multiple day delay for a successful A2A payment. Lastly, traditional A2A lacks the rich data insights to verify identity, and to prevent fraud/ non-sufficient funds returns.  

With Open Banking: Open Banking makes A2A payments seamless for consumers. Instead of the error-prone process of finding and manually entering account details – consumers can now leverage the latest technology to easily share their bank data. Powered by Open Banking, A2A payments can be made quickly, with extremely rich insights – such as account owner verification, balance checks, risk indicators, tokenization and fraud signals. In any market, Open Banking makes A2A payments easier, faster, and convenient. Additionally, Open Banking can help in the fight against fraud. For example, when a consumer initiates an account-based payment from their bank account, Mastercard enables account validation to confirm account ownership and validate identity details in real-time through Mastercard Open Banking, drawing on the safe exchange of consumer-permissioned data to facilitate frictionless and secure payments. 

Illustrative US A2A Payments flow (powered by open banking)²

What will it take to make A2A payments more mainstream?  

We believe that there is a positive trajectory for A2A payments. For A2A adoption to scale in use cases like ecommerce, it is important that consumers feel as secure using A2A as they do with other payment methods. Consumers also prefer a more user-friendly and streamlined user experience which removes friction from the A2A journey. Merchants and digital players are looking to provide consumers with a range of payment options, so helping to integrate A2A payments into their existing platforms will improve merchant acceptance and be vital in adoption. Lastly, we believe the scaling of A2A payments will be contingent on value-added services, which leverage consumer data (with consent) to create a secure and seamless payments ecosystem. We believe Open Banking can power many of these enhancements to A2A, to help scale.  

Looking Ahead 

In addition to A2A, there are a number of market forces and themes that we think will be prominent in the Open Banking landscape over the next 12-24 months. A few are highlighted below –   

• There is untapped potential in Open Banking use cases for small businesses. We believe more small businesses will use Open Banking to easily and safely share their banking information, paving the way for an easier lending process and customized financial recommendations to help them with their cashflow.  92% of businesses surveyed believe that it is somewhat to very important to have the latest technology for risk decisioning and credit scoring. Mastercard already offers a comprehensive solution set for small businesses – including real-time business account data, rich cash flow and balance analytics, smarter credit decisioning, etc. and we are continuing to enhance based on what is priority for SMBs.³  

• Use cases for AI in Open Banking will continue to evolve, enabling more personalized financial services experiences. For example, Generative AI can power financial assistants that can make investment recommendations, help with data categorization to give a comprehensive picture of finances, enable more inclusive lending processes, as well as power smarter payments systems with predictive capabilities. We believe AI is a powerful tool for Open Banking, and this is why we’ve been leveraging it to categorize and extract insights from transaction data, which feed into downstream AI models that power our payments and lending solutions. We’ve also partnered with players like bunq, the second largest neobank in Europe, to power spending insights for users – leveraging AI. However, we recognize that data transparency, security, and protecting against bias will become even more important, as Open Banking and AI are intertwined to solve for new and innovative use cases. 

• Real-time payments (RTP) will accelerate, led by the launch of FedNow in the U.S., and the SEPA Instant Payments Mandate in Europe. RTP has already seen strong success in other countries around the world like PIX in Brazil, UPI in India, etc. For consumers, RTP provides the option for swifter bill payments and near instant payouts, especially important for gig economy workers. Businesses are afforded faster settlements, improved payroll, and reduced disputes due to more efficient reconciliation and refunds. Bank adoption and use of RTP rails in the U.S. are still emerging, due to issues such as coverage/interoperability, irrevocable funds, and fraud risk. ​However, government pushes for RTP in Europe and the U.S. may catalyze adoption. Open Banking providers have an opportunity to build out use cases that accommodate RTP and mitigate the fraud risks that come with it. For example, Open Banking can provide risk insights and recommendations around the timing of payment and rail choice. In the U.S., Mastercard Open Banking is providing merchants, fintechs and banks rail agnostic risk signals, enabling payment decisioning across payment methods, and supporting consumer choice and flexible merchant usage.  

• Open Banking will move towards Open Finance, as more expansive datasets are used to offer more personalized and actionable insights and value-added services for consumers. Open Finance moves beyond Open Banking by covering more financial data inputs (e.g., payroll, insurance, investment/brokerage data). The European Commission is working to establish an Open Finance framework that would outline clear rights and obligations to manage customer data sharing in the financial sector beyond payment accounts. In Australia, the CDR is expanding to Open Finance with non-bank lenders and BNPL product providers set to be brought into scope in early 2025 (with first compliance obligations to commence in mid-2026). We believe regulation and consumer demand will serve as a foundation for the expansion into Open Finance, and will create further innovation for services like employee benefits, wealth advisory, etc. Mastercard is already supporting Open Finance in the U.S. – we have connections to payroll and investment data, as well as mortgage data and auto loan data, and are continuing to expand datasets.  

Mastercard’s role in the Open Banking journey 

Our vision in Open Banking is driven by many of the trends we’re seeing in the market and enabling enhanced financial experiences for our customers. We remain diligent in advancing our four primary use cases: payments, account opening, lending, and small business, while leveraging the broader Mastercard ecosystem to provide incremental value to our customers. We are enabling an Open Banking future that empowers consumers and small businesses to share their data for their own benefit and allows all parties in the ecosystem to thrive. To learn more about our Open Banking solution set – please click here. You can also see how Mastercard Open Banking creates priceless possibilities for all here. 

Footnotes

1 – Strong customer authentication (SCA) under the EU’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), mandates multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent unauthorized access (link); MFA is not mandated in the US, but FI’s can implement MFA according to their own discretion; Australia’s CDR governs MFA.

2 – Mastercard partners with companies to enable A2A payments in the US; payments flow shown may be supplemented with additional steps from Partner.

3 – Mastercard US Open Banking for Business solutions (illustrative, not comprehensive).

Choosing messaging apps over landlines and electric scooters instead of gas-guzzling cars, tech-savvy Gen Zers and Millennials think and experience life very differently to Gen X and Baby Boomers.   

Although their priorities on money differ, there’s one common thread that pulls the generations together: each wants to be in a healthy financial position to enjoy the lifestyle they want both now and in the future.  

Like generations before them, to reach their goals, digital native Millennials and Gen Zers are fast turning to budgeting apps such as Quicken Inc’s Simplifi which helps people stay on top of all their finances in under five minutes a week.   

Driven by consumer-permissioned data from sources including Mastercard’s open banking platform, Simplifi pulls together a wealth of data ranging from checking, savings, stock portfolios and retirement accounts in addition to the other account types that Simplifi integrates into a single, easily customizable dashboard.   

“Putting an emphasis on how we categorize data helps to optimize time spent by customers on tracking their finances,” said Kristen Dillard, Quicken’s vice president of product management. “Now users can see their investment balances, account types and holdings in real time, while personalizing the look, feel and function of the app.”   

It’s a one-stop shop that gives users a big picture view of their finances and lets them choose how they track their money, set spending plans, pay bills, and channel money into rainy-day funds.   

“People are looking to do the same basic thing across generations. They worry: ‘How do I balance my bills with the fact I need to save for retirement, or how do I make sure I spend my money on things that really matter to me, or how do I make sure that inflation isn’t getting the best of my finances,” says Dillard.   

To tune into its mobile-first Millennial and Gen Z users, Quicken looked to the fitness and gaming industries for inspiration on how to help Simplifi customers personalize their experiences.   

Younger users want ease and flexibility when it comes to budgeting. Some might like to track every dollar, similar to tracking every carb and calorie, while others might just want a view of how much cash they can spend on entertainment or travel. Simplifi lets each user decide exactly how they want to slice and dice their spending and savings each month, while push notifications warn if they max out their set budgets.    

For generations who have grown up gaming, receiving rewards for paying bills on time and reaching net worth goals makes the process fun, encouraging them to stick to their financial health plans. 

“Everybody’s approach to personal finances is unique. You have to allow customers to see that data and manage that data in a way they want,” says Dillard.   

“Younger generations expect everything to be in an app. They’re mobile first, they expect to do everything on the go, and they expect efficiency and ease.”  

With Millennials and Gen Zers less likely to take lifelong jobs with plump pension plans, Simplifi helps prepare for the future by pulling in wealth data that let users easily track multiple retirement accounts.   

There’s definitely a different mindset between younger and older generations. In 30 years, will we see the same trend we’ve seen with older customers where they end up in a better financial place? Adopting the right financial tools can be the first step to achieving those goals.  

If you are interested in learning more about Quicken, you can do so here. Click here to learn more about Simplifi by Quicken.  

The promise of digital finance and banking is coming true, moving consumers away from paper statements, branches and phone calls and into quick, intuitive fintech apps and services at a rapid pace. Nine in 10 U.S. consumers are using fintech to handle the simple tasks, and there’s a rising appetite for more complex needs like financial forecasting, investing via cryptocurrency and crowdfunding.  

Every year that goes by, the pace of technological development just continues to increase, offering more and more options for people to track, manage and allocate their money. To create winning financial experiences, access to smart wealth data through a single API call can accelerate innovation, powering visionary apps and services. 

U.S. workers move between jobs every 4.1 years on average, opening and managing various financial and investment accounts as their careers develop, each requiring different credentials to access. Put simply, people have their money stored all over the place, and there’s an opportunity to bring it all together in one dashboard that simplifies consumers’ financial lives and saves them precious time.  

With the advent of open banking data and embedded finance, fintechs and financial institutions can offer a growing menu of innovative investment products and experiences.

The fast track to smart, accurate investment data

Capture and consolidate all the various investment accounts, positions and transactions from a consumers’ portfolio in real time with one API call. Mastercard’s maximum connection reliability and high-quality data and support capabilities cover 95% of deposit accounts. 

One API call returns smart, normalized data across all account types, ready for innovation. Account balance, the type of account, available cash balance, position-level data and cost basis are just a few of the 40 different data elements available in each call. Connect only the fields that you need. This approach makes it simpler to develop insights for consumers, like showing them where they’re overweight or helping them improve their asset allocation and uncovering financial opportunities.  

 

With the speed and ease of fintech app adoption in the digital era, consumers can build up a wide variety of open accounts across institutions and platforms. Mastercard’s wealth data provided via its open banking platform gives innovators the ability to consolidate, or simply gives consumers the ability to see all their accounts in one place.  

Create financial experiences that are quick, comprehensive and easy to use. One API call for innovators, one dashboard for consumers. Build an app or service that eliminates the need to handle a jumble of different credentials for account sites and apps.  

Bringing next-gen ideas to life

The data is the medium to realize your vision. Whether that’s a dynamic dashboard, account consolidation, investment insights or another creative solution, a trusted data partner is vital.  

See how Quicken brought this to life with a new Personal Financial Management tool called Simplifi, targeted at helping Millennials and Gen Z manage their finances. Or talk directly with a Mastercard Open Banking representative about your ideas on delivering new financial insights for your customers. Request a demo.

Mastercard has partnered with upSWOT, a U.S.-based white-label embedded financial platform, to add data for small businesses on upSWOT’s platform.

With the addition of owner-permissioned data from Mastercard’s open banking platform, upSWOT now gives small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) the ability to link financial data to 200 API-enabled apps. These include accounting, enterprise resource planning (ERP), payroll, ecommerce, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), marketing, and POS business applications.

With this partnership, Mastercard and upSWOT will be able to provide SMBs with a smooth and effective approach to run their operations.

Read more about this innovative partnership here.

Jack Henry™ (Nasdaq: JKHY) announced an expansion of its existing relationship with Mastercard^® that will enable credit unions and banks to provide their accountholders the ability to securely see all of their financial accounts – within and outside their primary financial institution – in one place. Together, the companies establish a partnership that makes secure, API-based data-gathering affordable for community and regional financial institutions.

Through this collaboration, financial institutions can offer their accountholders secure access to external providers and financial data — consolidating, categorizing and enriching that data in a simplified digital experience.

Read more about this expanded partnership here.

Searching for the best open banking network, or what historically people referred to as financial account aggregators can mean combing through a ton of choices. In fact, when you search for financial data APIs on review site G2, you’ll see a whopping 92 options. How do you parse through so many companies to find the one right for your fintech company’s needs?

Because it can be a difficult decision for fintech companies, we’ve put together this guide to define financial data aggregation and to help identify the features to look for. 

Understanding Financial Data Aggregation

Account aggregation, also known as financial data aggregation, is a process that collects a person’s financial data in one place. This data can include checking and savings accounts, transactions, investments, credit and tax data. 

Having this data in one place benefits many parties, not only consumers. It also benefits banks, lenders, investors and financial advisors. A lender, for example, can use account aggregation to see all the relevant financial information for a consumer applying for a loan, including their transaction history, employment history, income, assets and more. Individuals and families can use the aggregated data to make better financial decisions and small and midsize businesses can use it to better run their operations or access critical capital. Fintech companies can use it to make better apps for their clients.

At Finicity, a Mastercard company, we believe that true empowerment of consumers comes from giving them full control of their data. Consumers should have total control over how their data is used, how frequently it’s accessed and how long it will be retained. The steps to manage data permissions should be easy, quick, and intuitive. Aggregators and ecosystem participants can work together to ensure the highest level of clarity and accessibility, making it easy for consumers to understand and manage their data permissions.  

In addition to pure convenience, financial data aggregation through open banking eliminates the need for each party to update this data manually. This saves time and minimizes mistakes for both companies and their clients. It’s all part of open banking—allowing consumers, financial institutions, and third-party providers to access consumer-permissioned data for empowering consumers and small businesses through new and innovative financial services. 

How does it work? Historically, data has been collected through screen scraping with a secure login. Much of today’s innovation has been built on the foundation of screen scraping. Recently, however, more data aggregators are using direct API connections with a financial institution. Finicity, for example, pulls the majority of its data through direct API connections in the United States. This method provides cleaner data and is more secure because it uses tokenized access instead of consumers’ login credentials.

Data aggregators use bank-level encryption, which safeguards the personal and financial data of consumers. Finicity operates its aggregation platform with a transparent, consumer-first ethos. Consumers should be explicitly informed in plain language how their data will be used and who will be using it.

What to Look For in Open Banking Providers of Financial Data

 When you’re searching for financial data aggregation services, you’ll want to find one that has wide coverage, core provider capabilities and specialty products for your company’s needs. It should also maintain a good price point, with a user-friendly platform and the assurance of accurate data.

Coverage

Does the aggregator have a wide breadth of access to financial institutions, or do you need a depth of coverage in one area? Finicity maintains its connections, which cover more than 95% of financial accounts. This means that anyone who uses our services can be confident that they will get the best possible insights into their client’s financial situation.

Core Provider

While there may be many companies that offer data aggregation solutions, many of them are simply reselling data from another aggregator. Finicity is one of a select few aggregators who maintain all of their connections to banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. When errors arise, you want to be dealing with the actual provider of the data, who can make changes. Otherwise, you may be consuming data they’re getting from somewhere else, and never have the ability to make essential adjustments. 

You also want to know where your data is coming from for traceability purposes. Knowing how many different companies touch the data can also be an important piece of the puzzle.

Specialty

Does the aggregator specialize in your industry? Whether you’re a lender, financial advisor, investor or private individual, it’s important that your financial data aggregation software be tailored to your company’s needs. For example, if you’re a lender, you’ll need to see assets, income, employment, cash flow, statements, transactions and scoring attributes to ensure that you are making the right decision. Where the data comes from is also important. Does the aggregator connect with the largest investment brokerages or stick to simply banks and credit unions? The source of the data is also an important component of an aggregator’s specialty.

Cost

What’s your budget? Where’s breakeven from a revenue and cost perspective? Many financial aggregation companies offer pricing on a tiered basis by volume, which may be something like free trial, pay-as-you-go or enterprise. Determine what your needs and priorities are—maybe you need verification of assets but not verification of income. See which tiers or packages offer your highest priority data and what your expected volumes would be.

User Friendliness

Are the APIs readily available for you to use? If fintech companies can’t test out APIs before making a commitment, it’s hard to know if the features and user experience will fulfill their needs. 

“The industry has been around for more than 20 years and technologies vary when it comes to working with a modern development team,” said Michael Deleon at Tearsheet. “You’ll want to find a match between your firm’s capabilities and the UI/UX of the data aggregation industry.”

Data Accuracy

Is the data they’re pulling cross-verified with multiple data sources and bank-validated deposit streams? You want to be confident in the quality of the data. That way you won’t have to do any further cleaning of the data and can plug what you receive directly into your current workflows.

Why Finicity is One of the Best Financial Data Aggregators

If you’re one of the many fintech companies looking for a financial data aggregator, Finicity is a great option for you. Tearsheet did a handy comparison, and if you’re here you’ve probably already heard about our competitors.

How does Finicity compare? No other data aggregator subjects their products to the FCRA, a statute that focuses on consumer rights and protection. Additionally, our data is battle-tested in the most rigorous lending market, mortgage, so you know you can count on its accuracy. We lead the way in coverage in the United States, with access to over 95% of financial accounts. Finally, our platform has deep data intelligence to deliver data in a smart way with the insights you need, whether you need it for payments, lending or helping your customers manage their money.

The best open banking platforms provide the vital links that allow fintechs and traditional financial services providers to continue building innovative products and services that enhance the customer experience.

• Data coverage and reliability – Finicity’s open banking platform provides direct API access so you don’t have to worry about connecting across different standards or connection types. Being the leader in direct data connections to financial institutions ensures the most reliable data direct from the data stewards (banks, payroll providers, wealth management firms, etc.).
• Data analytics and quality – The data you get out of those connections is tested daily and has been proven by the most stringent investors for its accuracy, usable insights and key data analysis. Finicity data is widely used for verifications, scoring, cash flow or other analytics.
• Trusted partner in innovation – An open banking platform should be your partner in innovation. Finicity provides the right data, from the best sources, over the best connections. This means you can rapidly integrate, innovate and move your products forward, staying ahead of the industry and your competitors.

We know that finding a data provider can be a daunting task. As you begin your search, request a demo of Finicity to see if it’s the right data aggregator for you. If you’d rather test out the technical side of things, check out our developer documentation.

Finicity, a Mastercard company, makes the ACH transfer process more secure and more consumer-centric with our open banking platform. Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are one of the most-used payment rails and are a streamlined form of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). In 2020 alone, ACH moved $61.9 trillion in transactions. Strictly for payments moved between US-based banks, these electronic payments operate as paperless checks. 

Payments are issued in two forms: ACH credits (push) and ACH debits (pull). Understanding the difference between the two can help you understand how to better leverage ACH credits and debits in your everyday business transactions. 

What Is an ACH Debit?

An ACH debit transfer “pulls” funds from the payer’s bank account. If you’ve ever set up a recurring bill payment online, this is an example of a pull. In order to initiate an ACH debit, the payer must give their account and routing numbers to the payment receiver (who requests the payment), and give them permission to access the funds. The Nacha Web Debit Account Validation Rule requires the account to be verified before the first payment can be issued from it. While various verification methods are available, verification can happen by confirming the account number, or by the account owner giving permissioned access to it through an open banking portal. 

What Is an ACH Credit?

An ACH credit transfer “pushes” funds to a bank account at the request of a payer. If you receive your paycheck through direct deposit, it comes through an ACH credit transfer, in which your employer is requesting that funds be moved directly from their bank account to yours. You can also make payments in the form of an ACH credit, but unlike an ACH debit, you would initiate the transfer. 

How Do ACH Transactions Work?

ACH transactions happen in two key steps:

1. Initiating the payment: Before a payment originator can initiate a transfer, they must receive permission to either push or pull funds to or from the account. Originators can receive permission by signing an ACH authorization form or through verbal agreement. This authorization phase is also when the transaction is marked as either a one-time or a recurring payment. 
2. Receiving the payment: Once the ACH transfer has been authorized, your bank account will either push or pull the funds, depending on whether it’s a credit or debit transfer. If there are insufficient funds to push or pull, the payment can fail. In some instances, this can result in overdraft fees for the account holder.

Direct Deposits and ACH Transactions

Direct deposits have become the preferred method for issuing paychecks, both for employees and employers. Depositing payment directly into an employee’s account via the ACH network is a streamlined option. It also removes the fraud risk and processing delays of paper checks. Direct deposits are a type of ACH credit transfer, where employers push funds to an employee once they’ve received and verified the employee’s account and routing numbers. 

What Are Nacha’s New ACH Debit Rules?

Nacha’s central role is to facilitate the ACH network. Their top priority is ensuring that funds transfers are secure. In order to better protect the network as a whole, as well as individual businesses and consumers, Nacha implemented a new rule that applies specifically to WEB (online-initiated) debit transactions. 

Under Nacha’s operating rules, originators of WEB debit entries are required to use a “commercially reasonable fraudulent transaction detection system” to mitigate fraud risk. As of March 19, 2021, Nacha added account validation as a central component of fraud prevention. Any WEB debit originator now has to validate an account before first use, or when an account number changes.

Common Questions About ACH Transfers

How Long Do ACH Debit or Credit Transfers Take to Clear?

Because they are processed in batches, ACH transactions can take longer than other forms of payment to clear at the receiving bank. Some banks may offer same-day ACH payments which adds an extra window for submitting transactions, but most financial institutions charge extra because they’re moving toward faster payment options. 

What Are the Security Risks of An ACH Transaction?

As with any form of payment, there are security risks associated with ACH transactions. For example, with access to routing and account numbers, criminals can authorize fraudulent ACH transfers. Nacha regularly updates this page with the most current ACH-related threats. 

Following Nacha’s guidelines and using secure ACH payment solutions will mitigate the security risks associated with ACH transactions. 

What Are the Benefits of ACH Transactions Over Other Types of Payments?

ACH transactions are the most widely-used payment rail because they’re simple and secure. This makes them the obvious choice for exchanging payments via the internet. Some advantages of ACH payments include:

• ACH is the backbone of every disbursement, bill payment, and P2P financial services app. It’s the universal standard for sending and receiving money.
• Lower fees than wire transfers and other EFT formats.
• ACH transfers are convenient, thanks to the ability to set up recurring payments, and you can make ACH payments from anywhere.

Are ACH Transfers Right for My Business?

Many businesses leverage ACH transfers to pay vendors and receive payments from customers, in addition to paying employee salaries. The speed, convenience, and security of ACH payments are behind today’s most successful businesses, assuring a positive impression of your brand. If your company is frequently moving money, making large payments or if it isn’t as important when the transactions goes through ACH transfers may be the right choice.

There are areas where ACH could be improved. It lacks a seamless returns process and there isn’t a dispute mechanism for consumers. It lacks transparency and immediacy in many ways, which is why when fraud occurs it can be costly for merchants and businesses.

Enabling ACH Transactions with Finicity

Finicity, a Mastercard company, can help you make the ACH transfer process more secure and more consumer-friendly with our open banking platform. Through our payment data solutions, we offer instant account verification. This enables originators of ACH transfers to verify crucial account information in real time, increasing the likelihood of successful payments and reducing friction like microdeposits or manual entry. Finicity’s products also offer balance checking to give confidence that funds will be available, reducing the potential for costly insufficient funds returns. However you’re interacting with the ACH network, Finicity’s products are here to enhance the experience.

ACH credit and debit transactions are driving the exponential growth of today’s financial services innovation. To find out how we’re taking ACH to the next level, request a demo today.

In a hyperconnected world, it’s hard to name a transaction, financial or otherwise, that takes more than a few moments. Much of our business and personal lives take place on a tiny mobile screen. Instant results are the universal expectation. Buying a pair of shoes, commenting on a social post, and paying utility bills are all part of consumers’ continuous, uninterrupted flow. If it happens on a screen, it has to be now, now, now. Secure account opening is no different. Make your customer wait, and they’re gone. 

While account opening should take only seconds, issues like manual uploads and microdeposits add delays. Finicity, a Mastercard company, is addressing this new reality aggressively, stripping away friction points in the account set-up, onboarding and funding process. Open banking introduces new ways for financial institutions to verify account ownership and authenticate credentials. Accounts are opened and funded in moments, with a full package of data that includes account owners, details and balances. This creates the perception of immediacy that the end-user expects throughout their on-screen day.

Locking Fraudsters Out of the System

Understandably the risk, compliance, and customer experience balance is delicate. Efficiency can’t compromise fraud prevention. That’s why Finicity built its payment solution behind a driving principle: Pay Confidently. This means secure, lightning-fast account credential and balance verification. Financial service providers can verify account ownership and simplify the process by implementing their own application pre-fill functionality. Access to bank account data with instant account verification boosts sign-ups, reduces non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees and lowers abandonment rates. The connectivity is also useful when customers have an existing relationship with an FI but want to move money or add services. Data services help FIs verify account details and balances in milliseconds so they can move money accurately and securely.

Throughout the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, online fraud attacks rose by 250%. By far, the majority of them were account takeover scams, where fraudsters steal credentials and account information to siphon funds away from account holders. These attacks rose by a staggering 650%. In 2020 alone, the FTC tracked $3.3 billion in fraud losses to consumers. The convergence of fast-paced digital banking growth and a new wave of inexperienced customers created an opportunity for criminals to exploit. Finicity built its payment solution to cancel out these threats. Finicity Pay uses secure, tokenized access that yields no meaningful data if hacked. Our account verification service instantly and accurately identifies the account holder, stamping out account takeover scams before they get started. The user experience is positive, fast, and most importantly, onboarding is completed at the exact moment that the consumer wants to complete it. 

Why Finicity Open Banking?

• 95% Market coverage of direct deposit accounts. From the largest FIs to the smallest credit unions  – Finicity has you covered. Receive fast, reliable financial data that has been permissioned by the consumer for their benefit. Finicity is leading the industry towards direct API connections, signing Data Access Agreements with the largest financial institutions, payroll providers and wealth management companies.
• Added intelligence and deep learning. The analytics layer in our data services enables accurate, confident payments and verifications. Our added intelligence helps mitigate fraud risk, reduce payment failure and fees, enable onboarding, and maintain compliance.

A True Partner 

The open banking wave is just beginning to rise. COVID-19 has only accelerated the shift to digital banking options that offer faster, slicker ways to set up new accounts, move money and make payments. From October 2020 to August 2021 alone, Gen Zers and Millennials doubled their adoption of digital banks as the primary holder of their accounts. Open banking is the backbone behind the innovation and lifestyle options that are driving fintech app growth.

This is where Finicity provides a differentiated experience. As an innovation partner, Finicity’s development team can identify the best tools to suit your unique use case with the transparency and control that consumers demand. If they feel they can easily set up a new account and then pay quickly and safely, they will adopt your platform. The confidence that secure account opening inspires will drive down-funnel conversions and build confidence in your organization. 

Visit our demo page to see how Finicity can help you innovate with data today.

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.® is a leading provider of technology solutions and payment processing services primarily for the financial services industry. Jack Henry announced today that Finicity, Akoya, and Plaid are among the first open banking pioneers to integrate to the Banno Digital Platform using the Banno Digital Toolkit℠. This provides better security, privacy and transparency for the nearly 6 million consumers banking with the Banno Digital Platform by removing screen scraping. 

Learn more about Finicity’s partnership with Jack Henry here. 

Mastercard’s Jess Turner, EVP New Digital Infrastructure and Fintech, was featured in PYMNTS The Way Payments Are Now Done eBook discussing how account opening needs to follow customer expectations to provide the best experience possible. You can read the full report at PYMNTS, but here’s what she had to say: 

As we contend with in-person restrictions, the demand for and use of digital financial services has grown. Mobile banking, account opening or making real-time payments are now not only our first reflex but often a necessity. Mastercard’s 2020 Global State of Pay study found 73% percent of consumers and 67% of small businesses had used mobile banking apps to manage their finances and make payments in the past 12 months, and 53% of consumers said they were using them more now than they had before.

Consumers want flexibility in how they manage their finances, and true financial services innovators are delivering experiences that provide this choice. Opening checking accounts online is increasingly part of a consumer’s normal payments routine, and it is powered by open banking, which has also seen significant acceleration during COVID-19 and is expanding globally. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the checking accounts opened during the height of the pandemic were submitted either online or on a mobile device with more than eight in ten banking app users reporting the experience was “easier than they thought.” That’s largely due to open banking.

Digital account opening is here to stay, and consumers expect to open an account in seconds. But issues like manual uploads and micro-deposits add delays. Open banking introduces new ways for financial institutions and apps to verify account ownership and authenticate credentials for opening and funding accounts. The balance of risk, compliance and customer experience is delicate – efficiency can’t compromise fraud prevention. Trust is critical in our hyper-connected digital environment and the consumer must be at the center of control, ensuring greater transparency.

That’s why we have a solution that provides secure, lightning-fast account verification. Mastercard’s open banking network is removing friction points in the account setup, onboarding and funding process. Open banking introduces new ways for financial institutions to verify account ownership and authenticate credentials for opening and funding that include account owners, account details, and balances that boost sign-ups and reduce abandonment. The connectivity is also useful when customers have an existing relationship with a financial institution but want to move money or add services. Data services help financial institutions verify account details and balances in milliseconds while moving money accurately and securely.  

With the rapid emergence and global expansion of open banking, the money experience will never be the same. At Mastercard, we are redesigning our network to power the future of payments and services. A global open banking network, coupled with our existing multi-rail expertise, empowers our partners to better serve consumers and their changing expectations with digital experiences.