Enables quick and easy sharing of information
Allows real-time, data-led insights for faster decisions
Uses safe and secure Government-backed technology
Your customers can now link their bank account with us through Open Banking, allowing us to access a one-off snapshot of their financial information so we can make faster lending decisions.
What's changed?
We’re introducing Open Banking for customers, which will ensure that any further information requests can be undertaken quickly and efficiently.
Through this new service, your customers can securely connect their personal and business accounts to share their financial information directly from their main bank.
We will only be able to access a one-off snapshot of their bank account transactions from the last 24 months — so it’s a lot like when a paper bank statement is shared with us. We can then use this information to speed up the process for lending decisions.
What is Open Banking?
Open Banking is a Government-backed system for the secure sharing of financial information. There have been a number of recent reforms that mandate banks to enable customers to share their financial data such as spending habits and regular payments with authorised providers. The end goal is to increase competition and innovation within the sector.
To deliver this service, we’ve partnered with Kudos Credit, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (ref. 770345 and 795791) to deliver Open Banking.
Atom bank and Credit Kudos will not be able to view your customers’ bank log-in details at any point.
What are the benefits of Open Banking?
Quick and easy sharing of information
A faster process for everyone
Bank-grade security
Reduced workload for brokers
How does the Open Banking process work?
1. We will provide you with the relevant details
We will send you an email with all the relevant details and a link for your customer to begin the Open Bank journey to link their personal and business accounts. This should be their main personal account, where they receive income and pay bills, and the main business account used to manage their business and receive payments. You can send this email on to them to get the process underway.
2. They will select their bank and give consent
Your customer will be asked who they bank with. Our Open Banking partner Credit Kudos will then ask them to connect their account via the secure journey.
Please feel free to direct your customer to our privacy and data policy if they wish to know more about how we use and store their data.
3. They will authenticate via log-in
Next, they will be forwarded to their bank’s app or website to sign in. This is completely secure — Atom bank or Credit Kudos does not receive any of their log-in information.
4. We receive a snapshot of their financial information
Once they log in via their bank, they will be prompted to give Atom bank access to a snapshot of their financial transaction history. We can use this to make lending decisions, get further information and review accounts much more quickly. Our underwriting team will be able to review bank transaction details for applicants (e.g. evidence of income).
Atom and the customer will be notified once they've successfully shared their bank transaction data.
Got a question?
Open Banking allows your customers to securely share a snapshot of their financial information with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated providers. It makes use of Government-backed technology to provide consumers and businesses with a simple and secure way to manage their money.
It was introduced to provide consumers with more convenient ways to manage their finances and to encourage new, innovative products and services to the market. The end goal is to facilitate getting customers and small- to medium-sized businesses the best deal possible when it comes to their finances.
We will get in touch with you via email with all the relevant details and a link to where your customer can start the Open Banking journey — you can then send this on to your customer to get the process started. From there, they will be able to select who they bank with and connect their personal and business accounts as directed.
As part of this process, they will be asked to log in to their bank and give their consent to share their information. You can reassure them that Atom bank or our partner Credit Kudos will never have access to these log-in details, we only receive a snapshot of their account.
When permission has been granted, we will connect to your customer’s bank account using the Open Banking API — software that ensures that two applications can speak to each other securely.
To summarise, when a customer shares their details through Open Banking, it’s just like sending a paper bank statement to us, but hasslefree, faster and more secure.
At Atom we are continuously looking to simplify the application process for our brokers and their customers. The introduction of Open Banking will speed up processes for all parties involved, namely lending decisions, further information requests and account reviews.
As we will be able to obtain bank transaction information very quickly, without the need to manually collate and process paper based bank statements, your customer will get a quicker decision and reduce the need for additional further information requests.
The Open Banking connection journey should only take a few minutes and is a much more secure way of providing financial information.
Credit Kudos is an Account Information Service Provider (AISP) regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (ref. 770345 and 795791). We have partnered with them to deliver Open Banking via their platform, enabling us to integrate directly with your customer’s personal and business accounts.
Yes, your customer will still have the option to submit paper accounts as they have done previously. However, this will take longer than Open Banking.
We want to deliver the quickest and safest lending journey for your customers, and new innovations like Open Banking allow us to do just that. Simply put, sharing data via this service will result in a much quicker turnaround than submitting paper documents.
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.
Since the 13th January 2018, all UK banks and building societies have been required by law to make their customer data available to regulated and licensed third parties. Your customer’s bank will have updated their T&Cs to reflect this.
You can visit the official Open Banking website. The likes of Money Savings Expert, Which?, Money Advice Service and the Financial Conduct Authority also have guides.
We will only use your customer’s information as required to support the provision and servicing of their loan. We can also offer several reassurances about the security of Open Banking:
- When they connect their account through Open Banking, their data will be protected via robust bank-grade security protocols, software and systems, all of which have been Government-backed in their development.
- Every provider that uses Open Banking must be authorised and regulated by the FCA, which is the organisation responsible for regulating financial services in the UK.
- It’s completely up to your customer whether they wish to opt in and give us permission to access their data.
- When your customer uses Open Banking, they’re fully covered by data protection laws and the Financial Ombudsman Service.
We only access your customer’s data on a one-off basis, which is either when we’re making a lending decision or carrying out an annual account review. We will only access their transactional information for both of these activities.
Please feel free to direct your customer to our privacy and data policy for more information.