Guide · Open Banking · 3 min read
Open banking lets you connect your bank account to other apps, securely, so they can read your transactions for you.
Open banking is a regulated system for sharing your bank data with authorised third parties. In the UK it is overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority. You grant access, and you can withdraw it at any time.
Read-only access means an app can see your transactions, balances and account details. It cannot move money, make payments, or change anything in your account.
Making Tax Digital requires digital records. Connecting your bank means your income and expenses are recorded automatically, instead of typed in by hand. Fewer gaps, fewer errors.
You never share your bank login with the app. The connection runs through your bank's own secure system. Access is granted for a set period and can be revoked whenever you want.
Today, FreelanceOS reconciles your bank statements: upload a CSV from your banking app and every transaction files into place — money in matched to invoices, money out into its HMRC category. Direct open-banking connections through an FCA-regulated provider are on the way, and access will be read-only. Your data stays yours.
Open banking turns your bank statement into a live record. For Making Tax Digital, that is the foundation.