The world of payments and financial data is moving fast. Open banking is now shaping how businesses get paid, verify accounts, and deliver better customer experiences. But with so many providers in the market, how do you choose the one that fits your business?
This guide breaks it down step by step. If you’re looking for advice on how to choose an open banking provider, you’re in the right place.
What Is an Open Banking Provider?
An open banking provider is a regulated and licensed company that connects your business to users’ bank accounts. With consent, these providers let you:
- Accept payments directly from bank accounts
- View account balances and transaction history
- Verify account ownership in real time
These services use APIs (application programming interfaces) to connect securely with banks, giving you a faster and more transparent way to handle financial transactions.
Why Choosing the Right Provider Matters
The provider you choose affects everything from how fast you get paid to how smooth your customer experience feels. The right one helps your business grow. The wrong one can slow you down or even damage trust.
Knowing how to choose an open banking provider helps you avoid poor integrations, unreliable payments, and slow support.
Step 1: Know Your Business Needs
Before comparing options, get clear on what you need. Ask yourself:
- Do you want to accept payments, access bank data, or both?
- Are you selling in one country or across Europe?
- Do you need instant payments or batch payouts?
- Will you use it for one-time transactions or recurring billing?
Understanding your specific needs will help you filter out providers that don’t match your setup.
Step 2: Look at Coverage and Reach
Not all providers support the same banks or operate in the same countries. Some focus on just a few regions, while others offer full European coverage.
It’s important to check how many banks are supported in the markets you’re targeting, whether both personal and business accounts are included, and if the provider works with international banks or only local ones. The broader the coverage, the more customers you’ll be able to reach.
Step 3: Prioritise User Experience
Payments and data access should be easy for both your team and your customers. Look for a clean, mobile-friendly payment experience with options to add your own branding — like your logo, colours, or custom messages.
The fewer steps the user has to take, the better. A smooth, intuitive experience helps boost conversion rates and reduces the chance of customers dropping off.
Step 4: Integration Options
How easy is it to connect the provider to your system? Ask:
- Is there a simple API you could use?
- Are no-code or low-code options available (that’s if your technical resource is low?
- If you’re selling on a platform, do they offer plug-ins?
- Is the developer documentation clear and updated?
Good integration saves your team time and lowers your tech costs.
Step 5: Compare Pricing
Costs can vary a lot depending on the provider. Some charge a flat fee per transaction, while others use tiered or volume-based pricing.
It’s important to check whether there are any setup or monthly fees, if payment fees are fixed or percentage-based, and whether faster settlements or premium support come with extra charges. The right pricing model should match your transaction volume and fit comfortably within your budget.
Step 6: Understand Security and Compliance
Security is critical in financial services. Make sure the provider:
- Is licensed under PSD2 as a payment or account information provider
- Follows Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
- Encrypts all data in transit
- Offers consent management and audit logs
Your customers need to trust that their data is safe.
Step 7: Test Support and Responsiveness
At some point, you’ll need support — whether it’s during setup or when something goes wrong day-to-day.
It’s worth choosing a provider that offers live support or a dedicated account manager, with clear response times and multiple ways to get in touch, like email, phone, or chat. A well-organised help centre can also save time. When you’re dealing with real money, fast and reliable support makes a big difference.
Step 8: Review Performance and Reliability
A payment service needs to be reliable every day — not just when things are running smoothly. Look for signs of strong performance, like 99.9%+ uptime, real-time monitoring tools, and a transparent status page you can check at any time.
Reading reviews or speaking with current users can also give you a clearer picture of how dependable the system really is.
Step 9: Consider Additional Features
Some providers offer more than basic payments and data access. You might also want:
- Instant account verification
- Recurring payments
- Payouts and refunds
- Smart analytics or dashboards
These extras can reduce your manual work and give your business an edge.
Step 10: Run a Trial
Before committing, it’s worth testing the system yourself. Set up a sandbox environment and see how it performs — check how fast the payments are, how easy it is to integrate, and what the user experience feels like from your customer’s perspective. A short hands-on test can reveal far more than hours of research.
Final Thoughts
Figuring out how to choose an open banking provider takes some time—but it’s worth it. Start with your business goals. Look for coverage, ease of use, pricing, and support. Focus on reliability and user experience. And always test before you commit.
With the right partner, open banking can help you reduce costs, improve conversion, and future-proof your payments. Take the time now to choose well. Your bottom line—and your customers—will thank you.
