Payments move money, but banking APIs let your product see and use a customer's bank data: balances, transactions, and account details. Open banking is the framework that makes this safe. The customer gives explicit consent, and a regulated provider connects to the bank through an API, so nobody has to hand over a bank password.
You'll start with open banking and PSD2, the European rules that created two kinds of provider: those that read account information and those that initiate payments. Then you'll see how an aggregator like Plaid turns this into a few API calls: your server asks for a link token, the user connects their bank in a ready-made widget, and your server exchanges the result for an access token. Finally, you'll learn about ISO 20022, the richer, structured message format that banks and payment networks are moving to.
Open banking rules and coverage differ by country, so always check which providers and standards apply in the markets you plan to serve. Once you've finished this module, move on to Security & Compliance.
A plain-language introduction to open banking and PSD2, explaining account information services and payment initiation services, and how a regulated third party uses bank APIs with the customer's consent.
A quick introduction to building with Plaid, the Link widget where users connect their bank, and the token flow of link token, public token, and access token that your server uses to call the API.