Enabling customers to take control of their open banking data with Bud

We’re excited to be bringing open banking data to TotallyMoney in 2022, through our new partnership with Bud.

This means we’ll be able to use open banking to loosen the grip of power from financial institutions, giving customers greater access to their own data.

Customers can instruct their bank to share their data with open banking service providers. Bud, founded in 2015, is one of the pioneers of open banking in the UK, and we’re delighted to be able to partner with them.

With the cost of living continuing to rise, and inflation at a 30-year-high, this could not come at a better time for customers. As we see the impact of covid continue to unravel, more and more will be feeling the squeeze and finding it difficult to make ends meet.

This is exactly when fintech should be working for everyone. However, a recent Stepchange report suggested that 53% of adults say they’d be reluctant to seek financial help when in difficulty from a bank or credit firm. 

Part of the problem is that for too long, there’s been an unequal power balance between traditional financial institutions and customers. The way the system has been designed keeps customers in the dark about their financial data, meaning that despite the fact it’s theirs, they haven’t been able to freely access or understand it. Simply put, there’s a lack of transparency.

Customers might not know why they haven’t been accepted for a deal, versus someone who has. Or customers are penalised for loyalty, with the price of their deal jacked up to a more expensive offer, once their initial agreement ends.

We’re continuing on our goal to make the credit industry fairer, by letting customers’ data work for them, not against them. Adding open banking to TotallyMoney is the next stage of that plan.

Our customers are already able to benefit from personalised Dynamic Actions, showing them exactly what they need to do to improve their credit eligibility. These actions are intelligently ranked by impact, with those at the top of the list being the quickest way to help unlock better offers.

The addition of open banking data will supercharge this personalisation, so customers get better insights into their credit rating and find better offers. In turn, that means they can move their finances forward.

This new, rich data source will enable even more accurate eligibility scoring and enhanced lending decisions, driving better outcomes for both customers and lenders.

This is all part of our drive for greater transparency in an often closed-off, secretive industry, notorious for making unexplainable decisions and not communicating why to customers.

We’re really thrilled about working with Bud. It’s a partnership of team and technology, and both gel so well together.

We’re hard at work making our new open banking feature be the best customer experience possible. You’ll see it in our app very soon.

I’m excited we’ll be able to empower our customers even more than before, putting them in control of their own data and financial future. We’re committed to helping each and every customer move their finances forward and gain financial momentum — and we won’t stop until we’ve achieved it.