IT Glossary
What is Open Banking?
Open Banking is the European framework obliging banks to offer secure API access to customer accounts — with the holder’s explicit consent — to authorized third-party applications.
Why can an accounting application read the bank statement by itself, instead of somebody downloading files from internet banking every month? The answer is Open Banking. The European payment services directive, PSD2, requires banks to expose APIs through which authorized third-party applications can, with the account holder’s explicit consent, read balances and transactions or initiate payments straight from the account. For companies that opened two categories of service. Account aggregation puts every bank the business uses on one screen and reconciles incoming payments against issued invoices automatically. Payment initiation lets a customer pay by a transfer started inside your application, with no card involved and usually at lower fees than classic card processing. Access is tightly regulated: only providers licensed by a European banking authority may use these APIs, consent expires periodically and can be revoked at any moment, and the bank authenticates every single access. The practical effect is that your banking data becomes usable by whichever software you choose, rather than only by the bank that happens to hold it.
Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247
Why it matters for your business
Automatic bank reconciliation
Incoming payments appear in the invoicing system as they hit the account and match themselves against issued invoices — the monthly ritual of ticking statement lines disappears.
Card-free payments at lower fees
The customer pays through a transfer initiated inside their own bank and confirmed instantly — no card details entered, and none of the typical card-processing fees.
Every company account on one screen
Balances and movements across several banks aggregate into a single cash-flow view, refreshed automatically — the day’s payment decisions no longer require five separate logins.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to give an application access to the company bank account?
Open Banking access never involves handing over internet-banking passwords: you authenticate directly with your bank, and the application receives only the permissions you explicitly approved — for example reading transactions but not initiating payments. Providers must be licensed and supervised by an EU banking authority, and the consent can be revoked whenever you choose.
What is the difference between an Open Banking payment and a card payment?
With a card, the money travels through the card scheme and a processor, with fees to match. With Open Banking, the customer authorizes a transfer directly from their account into yours. For a merchant that normally means lower fees and faster settlement; for the customer, a payment confirmed inside their own banking app instead of a form asking for card numbers.
Do Romanian banks offer Open Banking APIs?
Yes — the obligation comes from PSD2 as transposed into Romanian law, so every authorized bank offering online-accessible accounts exposes APIs for account information and payment initiation. In practice integrations are rarely built bank by bank: specialist aggregators provide a single API covering dozens of banks across Romania and the rest of the EU.
Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247