Introducing Open Banking bank feeds

Open Banking is the latest innovation revolutionising the banking industry and Open Banking bank feeds are now available for all eligible FreeAgent users, including practice-managed clients. From Wednesday 10th July, your clients will see a notification when they log in to their FreeAgent account giving them the option to switch to Open Banking feeds.

To ensure you’re equipped to help your clients set up or switch to Open Banking, we’ve gathered all of the essential information in this blog.

What’s changing?

Previously, many of our bank feeds were delivered via custom integrations with the banks or via Yodlee, a third-party feed provider. For the most part, these worked well but users sometimes experienced reliability issues which can be frustrating.

Fortunately, the introduction of new Open Banking regulations has meant that new bank feeds are now available. These feeds offer improved reliability and security, and we’ve been working hard to make these available for your clients.

Note that not all banks are supported by Opening Banking at this time. Clients who have an account with one of the participating banks are eligible.

What will clients with existing bank feeds need to do?

If your clients have an existing bank feed, they just need to make sure to disable their current feed first. Here’s how they can switch to an Open Banking bank feed. As part of this process they’ll be required to log into their online banking account so they will need to have the required details to hand, including any security devices such as card readers. We’ve worked hard to make this process as simple as possible for clients and they'll see the option to switch when they log in to their FreeAgent account from Wednesday 10th July.

What happens if clients don’t switch?

Regulations coming into effect towards the end of this year will mean that many of our older feeds will be replaced by direct Open Banking bank feeds. Barclays is the first bank to have confirmed a date for when their existing bank feeds will end - 31st August 2019. We’ll remind your clients of this nearer the time, but you can encourage them to get ahead of the game and switch promptly to avoid any disruption to their bank feeds.

What about clients who set up their bank feed for the first time?

If one of your clients wish to set up a bank feed for the first time, they will be able to set up an Open Banking feed if they bank with a participating bank. Here’s how clients can set up a bank feed.

If you’re looking for more information relating to Open Banking, please don’t hesitate to speak to your Account Manager.