If you have applied for a loan recently and been asked to connect your bank account, you have encountered open banking. For many people, the first reaction is caution, which is completely understandable. But once you understand what open banking actually does, and more importantly what it does not do, it starts to make a lot of sense, particularly if you want a faster, fairer decision on your loan application.
This guide explains open banking in plain English, with specific detail on how it works during a Fast Loan UK application, what data is seen, what is never shared, and how it can actually work in your favour.
Open banking is a system introduced in the UK in 2018 following regulation from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It allows you to securely share your bank account data with authorised third parties, including lenders, through a regulated connection. You always control this sharing, and you must give explicit consent before anything is accessed.
The system is overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and governed by the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE). Only FCA-authorised firms can access open banking data, which means any lender using it, including Fast Loan UK (FCA reference number: 673907), operates within a strict regulatory framework.
For borrowers, the practical result is this: instead of telling a lender what you earn, you can show them. That distinction matters more than it might first appear.
Traditional affordability assessments have always relied heavily on what applicants state about their income and outgoings. Lenders then cross-reference this against a credit report, which records past borrowing behaviour but tells very little about your current financial position. Someone can have a clean credit history and still be financially stretched right now. Equally, someone with a limited credit history might be in a perfectly stable financial position.
Open banking gives lenders a much clearer picture of both. By reviewing real transaction data, a lender can see verified income coming in, recurring committed outgoings, spending patterns, and account balance history. This allows for a more accurate affordability assessment rather than one built on estimates or assumptions.
For Fast Loan UK, responsible lending is not just a compliance requirement, it is the reason the company was founded. Ensuring customers never borrow more than they can repay is central to how every application is assessed. Open banking supports that goal directly by grounding affordability decisions in verified financial reality rather than stated figures.
The process is straightforward and takes only a few minutes. Here is what happens from start to finish.
When you apply for one of our short term loans, you reach a step in the application where you are asked to connect your bank account using open banking. At this point, you give active consent. Nothing is accessed without it.
You are redirected to your bank’s own secure login page. You authenticate using your normal banking credentials, whether that is a password, fingerprint, or face ID. Fast Loan UK never sees those credentials at any point in this process.
Once authenticated through your bank, a read-only data feed is established. The lender receives a structured view of your recent transaction history, typically covering the last 90 days. This data flows through an encrypted, regulated connection.
The underwriting team, supported by automated analysis, reviews your income, outgoings, and account patterns. A decision is then made based on what the data actually shows rather than what has been stated on a form. Once a decision is reached, the open banking connection does not persist automatically. Access is not ongoing unless you have specifically agreed to that.
This is one of the most common concerns people have, and it is worth being precise about it. The table below sets out exactly what is and is not shared during an open banking affordability check.
| What Is Shared | What Is Never Shared |
| Income credits visible in transaction history | Online banking passwords or PINs |
| Regular outgoings and committed expenditure | Card numbers or security codes |
| Account balance history | The ability to move or withdraw money |
| Spending categories and patterns | Access to savings accounts not selected |
| Loan repayments or credit commitments showing in transactions | Any data beyond what you have consented to share |
The connection is read-only. No lender using open banking can move money, make payments, or alter your account in any way. The data shared is used solely to assess whether the loan you are applying for is affordable for you.
No. Open banking does not involve a credit search of any kind. It does not appear on your credit file, and it does not affect your credit score. This is a separate process entirely from a credit check.
A credit check, whether a soft or hard search, is conducted by credit reference agencies such as Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. Open banking connects directly to your bank account data through your bank’s own API. These are two distinct systems with no overlap in terms of credit file impact.
For people who are cautious about multiple searches appearing on their credit record, open banking poses no risk on that front at all.
Open banking in the UK is one of the most regulated data-sharing frameworks in the world. All providers must be registered with the FCA. Data is transmitted using bank-grade encryption. Your bank authenticates you directly, meaning your credentials are never passed to or stored by a third party.
If you decide to revoke your consent at any point, you can do so either through your bank’s own app or online banking settings, or by contacting the lender directly. Once consent is revoked, access to your data stops immediately. Any data already collected would be handled in accordance with the lender’s privacy policy and UK GDPR obligations.
Fast Loan UK, as an FCA-authorised lender under JDB Enterprise Group Limited, is bound by these obligations in full. Transparency around data use is a core part of how the business operates.
Yes, you can choose not to use open banking. However, it is useful to understand what that means for your application. Without open banking data, a lender has to rely on stated income figures and your credit report alone to assess affordability. This can slow the process down significantly, may require you to submit payslips or bank statements manually, and in some cases may result in a declined application where a verified data view might have supported approval.
If your application is declined and you believe the decision did not reflect your actual financial circumstances, understanding why loans are declined can help you approach a reapplication more effectively.
This is where open banking makes a particularly meaningful difference. The traditional credit assessment model was largely built around people in salaried employment with a consistent monthly pay date. It has always been less effective for self-employed individuals, freelancers, people on zero-hours contracts, or anyone with irregular income streams.
A credit report does not show that a self-employed applicant earned £2,800 last month and £3,100 the month before. It shows their borrowing history. Open banking fills that gap by letting the actual transaction data speak for itself. Regular income appearing in the account, even if the amounts vary, is visible and verifiable.
For people with thin credit files, perhaps because they are young, have recently moved to the UK, or have simply avoided credit products historically, open banking provides an alternative evidence base that credit scoring alone cannot replicate. This means applications are judged on current financial reality, not just historical credit behaviour.
At Fast Loan UK, this is one reason we welcome open banking as part of our process. It helps us make fairer assessments for applicants whose circumstances do not fit neatly into a traditional scoring model, while still ensuring we are lending responsibly. Our direct lender loans are assessed this way because we make every decision ourselves, with no broker involvement.
Revoking access is straightforward. Most major UK banks, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, and Santander, now have a dedicated section within their app or online banking portal where you can view and manage all active open banking consents. You simply locate the relevant connection and remove it.
Alternatively, you can contact Fast Loan UK directly and request that access be revoked. Under UK GDPR and the Payment Services Regulations 2017, this request must be honoured promptly. Once revoked, no further data can be accessed through that connection.
Not in the way most people imagine. Open banking gives a lender read-only visibility of specific transaction data, with your consent, through your bank’s secure systems. It does not give anyone the ability to control, access funds from, or make changes to your account. You remain fully in control at all times.
For a standard loan application, open banking access is typically used at the point of assessment only. It does not continue indefinitely. You can check and revoke any consents through your bank’s app at any time, regardless of where you are in the loan process.
Open banking is a key part of the affordability assessment process at Fast Loan UK. It helps ensure lending decisions are based on accurate financial data, which is central to our responsible lending commitment. Applicants who do not use open banking may be asked to provide alternative documentation, which can extend processing times.
No. You choose which account to connect. Only the account you select is shared. If you have multiple accounts, you are not required to connect all of them, and data from accounts you have not chosen will not be visible to the lender.
The nine largest current account providers in the UK are required by regulation to support open banking. Many smaller banks and challenger banks, including Monzo, Starling, and Revolut, also support it. If your bank is not compatible, the lender will typically ask you to submit recent bank statements manually as an alternative.
