Theresa: Hi Florian, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today. We want to discuss Open Banking and Yapily's role in this area. Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us what you do at Yapily?

Florian: Hi there! I’m Florian, and I am the commercial lead for the DACH region at Yapily, a leading Open Banking infrastructure platform. We enable innovative companies to create better and fairer financial services for everyone through the power of open banking

Theresa: For many Open Banking is still rather abstract. Could you elaborate on that topic and explain what role Yapily plays in that context?

Florian: Of course! At Yapily, we’re solving a fundamental problem in financial services today: access. Historically banks have monopolised the ownership of and access to financial data. Yapily was founded to challenge these structures with the help of the EU regulation PSD2. We exist behind the scenes, securely connecting companies - from growth to enterprise - to thousands of banks in Europe, enabling them to access data and initiate payments.

Theresa: What are some of the use cases of Open Banking that customers and businesses can expect to see?

Florian: For customers - and also businesses - using Open Banking based use cases, Open Banking means more control and transparency over their financial data. They can use various financial services tailored to their needs and can “do banking” in the context of their choice.

For businesses that integrate Open Banking, Open Banking offers the opportunity to develop innovative and personalized financial products that enhance customer experience and create new revenue streams.

Theresa: How does Yapily help businesses take advantage of these benefits?

Florian: We provide a reliable and secure cloud-based infrastructure built for Open Banking that enables access to payment accounts with the consent of the account holders. On top of that, we provide a simple interface coupled with our powerful open banking platform, connecting our customers to thousands of banks in an easy and efficient way to access data and initiate payments. By doing that, we enable innovation by providing partners with a one-to-many relationship.

Our clients, including FinTechs, banks, and other companies, can use our API interface to offer seamless payment solutions, make better credit decisions, and provide personalized financial services. We handle the technical and regulatory requirements so our clients can focus on their core competencies.

Theresa: What are some concrete use cases of Open Banking that Yapily supports?

Florian: One example is that we enable payment service providers to Make check-out easier for merchants, prevent failed payments and drop-off, and save money on payment processing. All of these are possible through open banking enabled account-to-account payments. We also enable neo banks and neo brokers to instantly pull funds from customers' bank accounts into digital wallets to make investing easier and more accessible.

By accessing account data, apps can categorize users' spending and provide personalized saving tips. We also support many companies that offer digital services for SMEs. Account information can be pulled directly from the bank account which allows streamline reconciliation and better manage risk with real-time cash flow visibility.

Theresa: How does Yapily ensure that this data remains secure?

Florian: Security is our top priority. We employ strong customer authentication and encryption methods. Additionally, we comply with all regulatory requirements and continuously work to improve our security standards. Yapily is ISO 27001 certified and regulated as Account Information Service Provider and Payment Initiation Service Provider by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of Lithuania.

Theresa: How do you see the future of Open Banking? What developments can we expect?

Florian: The future of Open Banking is very promising. We will see an increasing integration of financial services into various aspects of daily life, whether in e-commerce, financial planning, or lending. The possibilities are almost limitless, and we will see more and more tailored solutions that meet the individual needs of users. Personally, I believe that the upcoming transformation of PSD2 regulation into PSD3 and PSR will improve Open Banking in Europe as we know it today. And of course, the new regulation FIDA will evolve Open Banking to Open Finance, we’ll see completely new use cases. Exciting times ahead of us!

Theresa: That sounds exciting! Finally, what advice would you give to other companies looking to explore Open Banking?

Florian: Be bold and open to new opportunities. Open Banking offers a multitude of chances for both companies and customers. Look for strong partners with a lean API only approach who can support you in the implementation and let you own the customer experience so that you can focus on providing the best possible service to your customers.

Theresa: Thanks, Florian, for the enlightening discussion. I believe our readers now have a clearer grasp of Open Banking and the opportunities it presents.

Florian: It was my pleasure! I enjoyed discussing it.