Skip to main content Exciting (and time-saving) updates to bank feed reconsent
Back in April, we unveiled the exciting news that you and your clients no longer needed to leave FreeAgent to reconsent their Open Banking bank feeds every 90 days if they banked with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank NI.
We’re now delighted to announce that this functionality has been extended to most other major banks, including Barclays, Lloyds and Nationwide. This means that you will now be able to reconsent bank feeds on behalf of any clients who have accounts at compatible banks at the click of a button, without having to leave FreeAgent.
Industry-leading technology
FreeAgent is one of the first accounting software providers to offer this functionality using cutting-edge Open Banking technology. If your clients have enabled a bank feed in FreeAgent, this latest development will not only save your clients time reconsenting their bank feeds every 90 days but also save you time chasing them up on this important part of their FreeAgent banking admin.
Accountants can reconsent their clients’ bank feeds on their behalf by securely switching to the client’s account and clicking the same ‘Update connection’ button that’s available to them. Again, you won’t need to leave FreeAgent to do this - it’s just a click of a button.
If a client’s bank feed has expired, you can reconnect their bank feed and FreeAgent will automatically import data from their last transaction date, so no data will be missing.
How can I make the most of this new functionality?
Encourage any clients who have not yet enabled a bank feed to do so. You can share this video with your clients which clearly lays out the steps they need to take.
Bank feeds are huge time savers for both accountants and their clients, securely importing transactions daily and doing away with manual CSV statement uploads. We hope this latest development will significantly ease the burden of gathering your clients’ data ahead of the forthcoming tax season.
When will this change come into effect?
The next time a client reconsents or sets up a new bank feed with a compatible bank we will ask the bank for a ‘long-lived’ consent. Once we have this long-lived consent in place, the user or their accountant will be able to reconsent the bank feed within FreeAgent in future.
What’s next?
We’re planning to roll out this process to all other banks as and when this functionality becomes available to us. For an up-to-date view of compatible banks, you can visit our Knowledge Base.