Fintech startup Revolut has expanded its open banking function to Ireland. The feature was first introduced in the UK in February. Once again, the startup is a partnership with TrueLayer This allows you to add third party bank accounts to your Revolut account.
The feature start also marks the start of TrueLayer In Ireland. For now, Revolut Users can only link their Revolut account to AIB, Permanent TSB, Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland. Revolut and TrueLayer will support other banks in the future. Revolut currently has 1 million customers in the Republic of Ireland.
The idea behind Open Banking is very simple. Many online services use APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to communicate with each other. You can connect to your Facebook account through many online services, interact with other Slack services, etc.
Financial institutions have lagged in this regard, but it is changing thanks to new regulations and technical updates. With open banking, your bank account should work more like a conventional internet service.
When you connect your bank account to Revolut, you can view your account balance and past transactions on a separate tab that lists all linked accounts. Users can also use Revolut’s budgeting features with their bank accounts.
ProWellTech’s Steve O’Hear noted when he first addressed Revolut’s open banking role that Revolut was originally approved by the Financial Conduct Authority for Account Information Services (AIS). Here you can access and view information from other financial institutions.
The startup now has permission to run Payment Initiation Services (PIS). This means that you can shortly initiate transfers from your bank account directly from Revolut. For example, this should make it much easier to replenish your Revolut balance.
While this function seems anecdotal, Revolut wants to build a comprehensive financial center for all of your financial needs – a kind of super app for everything related to money. With Open Banking you theoretically no longer have to open your traditional banking app.
