Latvian fintech Nordigen today launches the first-ever free open banking API platform. This will enable developers in companies of all sizes to access PSD2 open banking data from major banks from across Europe via a single API. Nordigen’s new freemium model truly democratises financial data by completely removing financial barriers to access.
In addition to offering free open banking connectivity, Nordigen will continue to provide premium data analytics and insights services, which it currently offers to more than 50 global fintechs, banks and lenders operating across 19 countries. Nordigen’s new platform provides connectivity to 29 countries in the European Economic Area, including the UK.
Removes the financial barrier
For the majority of fintechs, accessing open banking data is prohibitively expensive. Incumbent open banking companies require payment for every single connected end-user, meaning the cost of access rapidly rises for fintechs as they scale. Moreover, the market is difficult to navigate – there are more than 380 AISPs in Europe, many of which offer connectivity as a service.
Each of them has a different pricing model and API documentation. This makes accessing open banking data both expensive and technically challenging, while the limited geographical coverage of most existing providers forces clients to resort to a patchwork of different solutions. Usage of PSD2 is not yet mainstream beyond the UK. Nordigen’s new freemium, pan-European model removes the financial barrier while simultaneously simplifying the process of choosing and integrating to an open banking platform.
“In Europe, the business model of charging for open banking data, as Tink and Plaid do, will soon be history. Nordigen is the first to launch a free open banking data service, but we certainly won’t be the last. We believe the future of open banking is in the freemium model and that the rest of the industry will soon follow,” says Rolands Mesters, Nordigen CEO and co-founder.
To solve real-world problems
Unlike competitors, who require heavy technology stacks using custom bank integrations built before the age of open APIs, Nordigen is able to offer a freemium service thanks to a lightweight technology stack that relies exclusively on PSD2 bank connections. Nordigen built its platform with pure open APIs in mind right from the start, focusing on providing the raw banking data that most developers are looking for. This is done in a steady, robust way and without the need for screen-scraping or reverse engineering.
“By removing the barriers to accessing financial data, we’re aiming to enable more companies to translate their ideas into reality and drive the innovation and competition open banking regulation was originally meant to foster. It’s ironic that companies wanting to make finance more inclusive and fairer should find open banking data, of all things, out of reach for financial reasons,” adds R. Mesters.
“Our new freemium model is there to help more fintechs solve real-world problems, and there has never been a more crucial time for this. The Covid pandemic is accelerating uptake and showing us a glimpse of the transformational potential open banking has to offer, but we need something more to help companies turn their bold visions into reality. Free access to open banking is that,” he emphasizes.
Across the globe
Nordigen is a licensed Account Information Service Provider authorised in Latvia. It provides free access to PSD2 data as well as premium transaction categorisation and data insights services. Nordigen works with banks, lenders and fintechs in 19 countries, helping them leverage open banking data for lending, personal finance, automated customer screening and customer onboarding. Nordigen was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Riga.
Nordigen’s new data connectivity platform complements its expertise in data analytics. Since 2016, the company has helped clients across the globe extract more value from data to make better decisions, especially when it comes to assessing the creditworthiness of loan applicants. Nordigen is planning to raise a Series A in 2021.
Source: Labs of Latvia
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