What is Open Banking (openbanking.org.uk)?

Updated

openbanking.org.uk is the official information and standards platform for UK Open Banking, operated by Open Banking Limited (OBL). It is the place to go if you want to understand how UK open banking works, track its growth, read industry fraud and ecosystem data, or find the standards and guidance that banks and fintechs build against. It is a UK-focused body, not a consumer banking app and not a global regulator.

What Open Banking Limited actually does

The site describes open banking as "the trusted financial innovation that connects banks and fintechs to help the UK's consumers and businesses take control of their finances." In practice, OBL sits in the middle of a collaborative ecosystem of banks, financial institutions, fintechs, and technical service providers, all working toward delivering open banking-powered products and services in the UK.

Two roles stand out:

  • Standards and guidance. OBL publishes the specifications and customer-experience guidelines that participants implement, including material for payment initiation services.
  • Ecosystem coordination and insight. It publishes data, reports, and economic analysis on how open banking is being used, and supports the design of the UK's future standard-setting entity.

Who the site is for

Audience What they get from the site
Account providers (banks) Guidance on connecting to fintechs so customers can share transaction data and access new propositions
Third party providers (fintechs) Standards, guidelines, and a directory listing to reach account providers
Consumers and businesses Plain-language explanation of what open banking is and how it gives them control over their finances
Press, analysts, policymakers Growth statistics, fraud monitoring, and independent economic analysis

What you'll find on the site

The homepage and its linked sections cover several distinct content types:

  • Growth and adoption data. OBL reports that UK open banking has passed 1 billion payments and 100 billion API calls, with an article exploring the data behind the payments growth.
  • Fraud monitoring. The Open Banking Payments Fraud Monitor (June 2026 edition) assesses fraud trends in open banking payment journeys, benchmarked against wider UK payments industry data and informed by account providers representing more than 60% of open banking payment volumes.
  • Economic value analysis. Unlocking the Everyday is independent economic analysis commissioned by OBL and completed by EY, giving a quantified view of the value open banking delivers to consumers, businesses, and the wider economy.
  • Standards and guidelines. Published specifications, including customer-experience guidelines for payment initiation services.
  • Ecosystem directory. A listing of participants, plus FAQs, aimed at helping account providers and third parties find each other.
  • Events. Open Banking Expo 2026 runs 13–14 October 2026 at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London.

The ecosystem in numbers

The site's August ecosystem highlights give a snapshot of scale:

  • 326 regulated providers
  • 88 account providers
  • 238 third party providers
  • 140 regulated entities with at least one proposition live with customers

How to use the site

  1. If you're new to open banking, start with the homepage explanation and the FAQs to understand what it means for your money and data.
  2. If you're a provider or fintech, go to the standards and guidelines section for the specifications you need to build against, then use the directory to find counterparties.
  3. If you want evidence on impact, download the EY economic analysis or read the payments growth article.
  4. If you're tracking risk, read the latest Payments Fraud Monitor for fraud trends in open banking payment journeys.

One practical note: the site is an information and standards hub, not a service you log into to manage your own accounts. If you want to actually connect an app to your bank, you do that through a regulated provider listed in the ecosystem, not through openbanking.org.uk itself.