Open banking is a regulatory and technical framework that requires banks to share customer financial data with authorized third parties through secure APIs, enabling new financial services built on direct account access.

Enabled by regulations like PSD2 in Europe and emerging frameworks in Australia, the US, and elsewhere, open banking changes what's possible in fintech CX. Instead of asking customers to manually enter account details or upload statements, you can pull verified data directly. Instead of card payments with their 2-3% fees and chargeback risk, you can initiate account-to-account transfers.

For support teams, open banking creates new workflows. Customers may need help connecting accounts, understanding permissions, or troubleshooting failed connections. The consent model—where customers explicitly authorize data sharing—means support agents need to explain what data you access and why. Transparency builds trust.

The CX opportunity is significant. Open banking payments typically have higher approval rates than cards (no CVV errors, no expired cards) and near-instant settlement. Account aggregation lets you personalize experiences based on a customer's complete financial picture. The teams that build support processes around open banking now will have an advantage as adoption accelerates.

Related terms: Real-time payments, Transaction approval rate, Payment failure rate