When you’re dealing with affordability assessments, collections strategies or vulnerability detection, you need the best insight available. 

Choosing the right Open Banking provider means asking the right questions: Can your provider deliver trust-worthy data? Does it support our compliance requirements? Does it address our need to make better affordability assessments, help those with thin files and spot vulnerabilities earlier?

This post breaks down what to look for in an Open Banking data provider and why AperiData’s CRA-regulated approach is helping financial services, utilities, and telecoms unlock more value from Open Banking.

What separates a strong Open Banking provider from the rest?

A reliable API is just the starting point. When you’re relying on Open Banking AIS (Account Information Services) to inform affordability decisions, shape collections strategies, or identify financial vulnerability, you need more than just connectivity—you need confidence.

What is OB AIS?OB AIS stands for Open Banking Account Information Services. This is a regulated service that allows providers like AperiData to access consumer bank account data (with consent) via secure APIs. This data forms the foundation for smarter credit, collections, and vulnerability decisions.

That means looking beyond the technology to what really drives value: the quality of the data, the assurance of regulatory oversight, and the provider’s ability to help you turn raw information into actionable insights and better business outcomes.

Here’s what to look for:

1. Bank coverage that drives real conversion

One of the first questions to ask any Open Banking provider is: which banks do you cover and how well?

Many providers highlight the number of API connections they offer. But what matters more is how those connections perform across the banked population:

• Do they cover the right mix of consumer and business accounts?
  
• Are they API-based and PSD2-compliant (with no screen scraping)?
  
• What are the conversion rates and user experience across different banks?
  

Poor or inconsistent coverage can lead to failed connections, consent drop-off, and ultimately, missed opportunities to act on data.

✅ AperiData offers high UK coverage across major consumer and business accounts—all delivered via secure, regulated APIs. That means better performance, more accurate data, and higher trust across affordability, vulnerability, and credit workflows.

2. Regulated status that holds weight

Open Banking providers must be authorised to access account data, but authorisation alone doesn’t guarantee quality. Choosing a provider that the FCA regulates ensures a higher standard of oversight, governance, and reliability. This is especially important when using account data to support decisions around creditworthiness, financial health, or customer vulnerability.

In some cases, companies operate as Account Information Service (AIS) agents under the umbrella of a fully authorised provider. While AIS agents can access data and offer Open Banking services, they rely on their principal firm for regulatory compliance and oversight. It’s crucial to understand this distinction, as working directly with an FCA-authorised provider may offer stronger safeguards and accountability.

✅ AperiData is both an AISP and a regulated CRA, combining real-time Open Banking access with rigorous standards of oversight and auditability. Our clients benefit not only from quality permissioned financial data but also from the confidence that the insights they rely on adhere to regulatory standards comparable to those of traditional credit data sources.

3. Accurate, granular data

Categorising transactions is one thing. Capturing income sources, disposable income, benefit payments, debt repayments, and financial stress signals? That’s where precision matters. Look for providers with proven categorisation models and the ability to adapt insights to your specific use cases.

Additionally, it’s essential to comprehend how categorisation accuracy is evaluated. Not all models perform equally, and a high volume of transactions falling into an “Other” or “Uncategorised” bucket can significantly reduce the usefulness of the data. Providers should be transparent about their categorisation accuracy metrics and offer visibility into how often transactions cannot be confidently classified. This transparency helps ensure that the insights you act on are reliable, consistent, and fit for decision-making at scale.

✅ AperiData market-leading categorisation developed by data experts and continuously refined through real-world financial use cases. Our models are designed to detect key indicators of affordability, vulnerability, and financial resilience—such as income & expenditure analysis, benefit receipts, debt servicing, and financial stress patterns. Crucially, our categorisation system includes a feedback loop that enables ongoing learning and adaptation. This ensures that accuracy improves over time and insights remain precise, relevant, and decision-ready across diverse customer profiles and contexts.

4. Seamless integration with your existing systems

A good provider won’t just offer an API—they’ll help you make the most of it. Look for:

• Clear API documentation and robust sandbox environments
  
• Support with integration, testing, and rollout
  
• Flexible data delivery formats to suit your tech stack
  

✅With AperiData, you get integration support from industry experts who helped shape the UK’s open banking market. Our API-first approach is fast to deploy, simple to maintain, and flexible enough to meet the needs of enterprises, mid-market companies, and sector-specific organisations.

A good Open Banking provider does more than meet minimum requirements. They should enable sharper decisions, faster responses, and stronger outcomes. That’s exactly what leading organisations in financial services, utilities, and telecoms are seeing when they put high-quality data to work.

Sector spotlight: How the right Open Banking provider drives results

When Open Banking data is accurate, granular, and properly integrated, it becomes crucial for making informed decisions. Here’s how organisations in financial services, utilities, and telecoms are using it to improve outcomes across the credit lifecycle:

📣Financial Services: Better affordability, better decisions

For lenders and fintechs, Open Banking data enhances lending processes by providing a real-time view of income, outgoings, and financial resilience. That means more accurate affordability assessments, improved approval rates, and a reduction in defaults.

✅ AperiData’s FCA-regulated insights plug directly into customer journeys, decision engines and collections strategies, helping clients reduce defaults and improve customer outcomes.

Samantha Fogerty, CEO, Payl8r:

“𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘺𝘭8𝘳, 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵.” 

📣Utilities: Supporting the right customers, at the right time

Identifying financial vulnerability is critical for utilities, especially under Ofgem guidance and Consumer Duty expectations. With Open Banking AIS data, firms can understand whether customers qualify for support schemes, payment holidays, or intervention based on verified income and outgoings, not assumptions.

✅ AperiData helps utilities evidence ‘proof hardship’ with confidence, enabling faster, fairer decisions and targeted customer support.

📣Government & Public Sector: Proving affordability

Local authorities and government-funded services are under increasing pressure to deliver fair, consistent affordability assessments, especially when providing grants, subsidies, or support through schemes like Council Tax Reduction or Discretionary Housing Payments.

But traditional credit data often misses the mark, especially for low-income or financially excluded individuals.

✅ AperiData provides real-time, bank-verified insight into income, expenditure and benefits, giving councils and agencies the evidence they need to make faster, fairer decisions.

📣Telecoms: Reducing risk at sign-up and after

For telecoms providers, Open Banking data can inform both new customer onboarding and in-life risk management. From flagging unsustainable contracts to identifying early signs of payment stress, the right data gives telcos a clearer view of customer affordability and account stability.

✅ AperiData partners with telecoms firms to reduce failed payments, lower churn, and support ethical commercial practices… All through smarter insight.

These results aren’t just down to Open Banking itself. They depend on choosing a provider with the right capabilities, support, and strategic mindset. So, here’s what sets AperiData apart…

What makes AperiData different?

Most Open Banking providers focus on connections. We focus on outcomes.

With so many providers offering similar-sounding features, it’s the detail—and the delivery—that separates a technical vendor from a strategic partner. Here’s how AperiData compares:

What you get	Typical OB provider	AperiData
Regulatory status	AISP (Account Information Service Provider) or agency model	AISP and FCA-regulated Credit Reference Agency.
Data quality	Basic categorisation, limited context, broad transaction categories, “Other” or “Uncategorised transactions	Granular categorisation across income and expenditure transactions. Feedback loop for continuous improvement.
Insight depth	Limited insight over transaction aggregation	An additional suite of risk insights flags and custom variables available.
Support model	Developer-focused onboarding	Consultative delivery approach with industry and compliance expertise.
Integration	API access, self-serve documentation	Agile, hands-on integration support.
Use case alignment	Built for general use	Optimised for credit risk, collections, and vulnerability strategies.

Choosing the right Open Banking provider comes down to data and delivery. And that starts with how well the solution fits your environment, your objectives, and your internal processes.

➡Want to see how we can plug directly into your current workflows? Book a walkthrough or learn more with these FAQs.

Don’t settle for surface-level insight

Plenty of Open Banking providers offer access. A few offer decent categorisation. But if you’re using this data to power decisions that affect credit risk, collections performance, or customer vulnerability, “decent” isn’t enough.

You need data you can trust. Insight you can act on. And a partner who understands the pressures you’re under, whether that’s from regulators, internal stakeholders, or your customers.

That’s what sets AperiData apart: We’re industry experts. And we don’t just supply the data—we help you make the most of it.

Our clients come to us to close data gaps, enhance decision-making, and deliver better outcomes across the credit lifecycle. From assessing affordability at onboarding to identifying vulnerability in arrears, we help teams turn raw data into operational impact. And fast.

If your current provider isn’t giving you that level of confidence, maybe it’s time to raise the bar.

Ready to see how AperiData could work for your organisation? Get in touch today—we’d love to help.