What is Open Banking, and is it safe?
Open Banking is a regulated system that lets you securely give an app read-only access to your bank data — through your bank's own login, with your explicit consent. In Europe it is built on a law called PSD2. It is what allows a finance app to show all your accounts and cards in one place without ever seeing your bank password or being able to move your money.
How Open Banking works
- You choose an app and ask it to connect to your bank.
- You are sent to your bank's own secure login to approve the connection.
- The bank then shares your account and transaction data with the app — read-only.
- The app never sees your password, and the access is limited to what you approved.
Is Open Banking safe?
Yes, when the provider is regulated. The safeguards are built into the system:
- Regulated. Providers must be licensed and supervised under PSD2.
- Read-only. A budgeting app can see your data but cannot make payments or transfers.
- Your bank's login. You authorise through the bank, so the app never handles your password.
- Revocable. You can withdraw access at any time, from the app or your bank.
- GDPR. Your data is protected by European privacy law.
What you can do with it
Open Banking is what makes modern finance apps possible: seeing every account and card in one place, automatic budgeting, spending insights, and cash-flow forecasts — all without manual entry. It puts your own financial data to work for you.
Open Banking, put to work
ZivaFinance uses regulated Open Banking to bring every bank account and card into one calm picture, with automatic categorisation, a 12-month cash-flow forecast, and an AI coach. It is read-only and never moves your money — in 14 languages, free to start.
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This is general information, not financial or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is Open Banking?
Open Banking is a regulated system that lets you securely give an app read-only access to your bank data through your bank's own login. In Europe it is based on the PSD2 law.
Is Open Banking safe?
Yes, when the provider is regulated. Access is read-only, you authorise it through your bank so the app never sees your password, it cannot move your money, and you can revoke access at any time.
Can an Open Banking app move my money?
A read-only budgeting app like ZivaFinance cannot make payments or transfers. It only reads your data to give you insight. Payment features are a separate, explicitly authorised capability.
How do I stop an app from accessing my bank?
You can revoke access at any time, either inside the app or through your bank's own settings, and the connection stops immediately.