What is Open Banking & Accounting Software integration?

Open Banking is a Banking System initiative that gives the customers of traditional banks the option to share access to their banking data and allows for the secure sharing of that data with approved third party providers. Its aim is to make the finance industry more competitive and to encourage the development of innovative new products and services. Open banking in Ireland is regulated through the Payment Services Regulations 2017, which brought the second EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) into Irish Law.

The vast majority of businesses use cloud-based accounting software packages like Sage, Xero and Quickbooks to run their finances. Accounting Software integration means that customers grant access to this data to third parties.

Rather than relying on historic management accounts and bank statements, this real-time access to business banking and financial data has revolutionized the funding sector. It means that alternative finance providers like InvoiceFair can get a real-time understanding of how customers business and credit cycle is working right now – rather than in the past and make quicker more informed credit decisions and provide faster, better tailored solutions than traditional funders.

How often have you shared historic account records and then have to provide supplementary commentary on how the company has performed since that period finished? Open Banking and Accounting Software integration removes this unnecessary manual preparation of information, allowing for a real-time and ongoing view of your business performance.

What information is being shared and why?

It’s probably important to state up front that in all cases, the access is provided on a ‘read-only’ basis, so you retain control over your data at all times. The information you will be sharing is the same mandatory information you are already asked for by financial providers in manual form for credit decisioning and monitoring purposes.

We will use this information to provide you with a more tailored product offering and a more streamlined customer experience.

The information that you will be sharing is:

Open Banking Data

• Your account information & balances
• Your beneficiaries
• Any direct debits and standing orders you have set-up
• Data about transactions you make
• Details of any products you have

Accounting Software Integration Data

• Profit and Loss
• Balance Sheet
• Aged Creditor and Debtor reports
• Invoice data
• Operating Cashflows

How does it work?

We use a single Application Programming Interface (“API”) to integrate with both your banking information and with the financial accounting software you use. We use two globally acknowledged best-in-class data processing platforms to manage this – Plaid for Open Banking and Codat for financial software integration.

Is it safe?

Open Banking is governed by The Payment Services Regulations 2017, designed to provide you with safety and security. We comply with strict security mechanisms and data protection laws, identical to traditional banks.

We cannot access your information without you first providing consent, and you can always choose to stop sharing data at any time.

All our data is securely stored using the highest level of security and encryption on Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services.

What’s in it for you?

So, it’s pretty easy to see why Open Banking & Accounting Software integration is important to a funding platform like InvoiceFair, but what are the benefits to our customers? The good news is that there are many advantages and benefits:

Faster Decisions

Real-time access means we can make credit decisions faster for you.

More competitive cost of finance

Open Banking & real-time management accounting information offer a greater depth of analysis, meaning that in many cases, the cost of finance will reduce.

Saves time

Manually gathering and sharing financial information can be very time consuming. With Open Banking, you can share this information securely with the click of a button.

Tailored Solutions

The data we have access to allows us to learn more about how your business works and allows us to offer you credit options that suit your specific circumstances.

Fairer Credit

Because we have access to more informed data, we can approach any request for credit in a more transparent and fairer environment.

Ongoing Access to a revolving line of credit

Because we have access on an ongoing basis, we have a real-time understanding of your credit requirements.

Interested in learning more about Open Banking or our range of innovative funding solutions? Call our Business Development team on 003531 6632662 or email busdev@invoicefair.com for a bespoke consultation on how InvoiceFair could give your business the freedom to fund your own future.