Open banking
Also known as: Account information and payment initiation, AIS and PIS, PSD2 access to accounts
Open banking is the common name for the PSD2 framework that lets authorised or registered third-party providers access a customer's payment account data or initiate payments from it, with the customer's permission, through an interface the bank must provide.
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Example
A customer pays an online shop by approving a transfer in their bank's app, started by an authorised payment initiation provider. No card number is typed.
Open banking is the idea that your bank account data belongs to you, not only to your bank.
What the law says
PSD2 opened the payments market to new kinds of provider. Two of them matter here. A payment initiation service provider starts a payment from the customer's account. An account information service provider collects the customer's account data into one place. Both act only with the customer's permission, and both must be identified to the bank. Payment initiation providers are authorised; account information providers need only be registered (PSD2 Article 33). The EBA's 2017 release on the technical standards notes that PSD2 no longer allows third-party access without identification once the transition ends.
The bank has to offer the way in. The EBA kept the requirement that banks provide at least one interface for these providers. A bank that builds a dedicated interface must give it the same level of availability and performance as the one its own customers use.
What it is used for
For a merchant, the visible form is a "pay by bank" button: the customer is sent to their bank, approves, and comes back. Strong customer authentication still applies at the bank. iDEAL and Wero also start in the bank app, but they run on their own scheme rules, not on PSD2 access.
What is changing
The EU is replacing PSD2 with a third directive and a Payment Services Regulation. As of October 2026 the package has been provisionally agreed but not adopted, so PSD2 remains the law in force. Check the current state before relying on a date.
The bank holds the account. You decide who else gets to look.