Open Banking in 2026: Trends and What to Expect 

What is open banking in 2026? 

When people ask “what is open banking” today, the answer is already broader than a few years ago. Originally, open banking under PSD2 in Europe meant giving licensed third parties access to payment account data and the ability to initiate payments, via secure open banking APIs, under strong customer authentication and with explicit consent. 

By 2025, that same infrastructure has become the backbone of something much bigger: 

• Embedded finance, where payments, lending, insurance and investments are built directly into non-financial apps and platforms 
• AI-powered financial services, where machine learning uses real-time bank data to personalise decisions and automate processes 

In other words, open banking started as a regulatory requirement; it is now a core ingredient for API-first, AI-enabled and embedded financial experiences. 

Globally, Statista estimates that the number of users of open-banking–based services is projected to exceed 132 million around 2024, with the total value of open banking transactions reaching roughly USD 57 billion, almost half of all users located in Europe.¹   

At the same time, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance reports that around 60 jurisdictions have implemented some form of open banking rules, showing how far the model has travelled beyond its European starting point.²  

From open banking to open finance and embedded finance 

Open banking is increasingly viewed as the first step toward open finance and a catalyst for the era of embedded finance. 

On the regulatory side, the EU’s proposed Framework for Financial Data Access (FiDA) aims to move beyond payment accounts and create a consistent framework for sharing data on products like savings, loans, investments and certain insurance contracts—always based on customer consent.³ Together with the upcoming PSD3 and the new Payment Services Regulation, this will reshape how data and payments are shared across the European financial sector. 

On the market side, embedded finance is scaling rapidly: Grand View Research estimates the global embedded finance market size will hit about USD 588 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of roughly 32–33% from 2024.⁴ 

In practical terms, this means open banking APIs are no longer used only by fintech apps that aggregate accounts. They now power: 

• Embedded payments: instant account-to-account (A2A) checkouts or payouts inside marketplaces, mobility apps or gig-economy platforms 
• Embedded lending: real-time credit decisions based on live transaction data 
• Embedded insurance and wealth: contextual offers at checkout or within lifestyle apps 

As this happens, the line between “open banking”, “open finance” and “embedded finance” is becoming more blurred. For customers, the outcome is a smoother, more invisible financial layer; for banks and platforms, it is an opportunity—tempered by open banking risks around data protection, cybersecurity and AI ethics. 

Key open banking trends shaping 2026 

Let’s dive into the open banking trends that are defining 2026 and beyond. 

1. A2A payments go mainstream 

The shift from cards to account-to-account (A2A) payments is accelerating, especially in markets with instant payment infrastructure. 

• McKinsey’s Global Payments Report highlights how lower-yield account-to-account rails (including instant payments and open banking payments) are taking a growing share of global payments revenues, especially in Europe.⁵ 

For merchants and billers, this trend matters because A2A payments: 

• reduce scheme and interchange fees 
• settle in real time, improving liquidity 
• can be combined with strong customer authentication by default 

2. Open banking as infrastructure for embedded journeys 

As platforms embed more financial services, open banking APIs provide the data and payment “plumbing” that make these journeys work. 

Common patterns include: 

• Marketplaces and B2B platforms using live bank data for automated reconciliation and working-capital lending 
• Mobility and gig platforms using A2A payouts to disburse earnings instantly 
• Retail and subscription businesses integrating pay-by-bank, real-time affordability checks and contextual insurance into their apps 

In many of these use cases, the end user never sees the phrase “open banking”—they just experience faster onboarding, smoother payments and more relevant offers. 

3. From PSD2 compliance to open finance strategy 

In Europe, open banking under PSD2 started as a compliance obligation. With FiDA and PSD3/PSR on the horizon, the emphasis is shifting towards: 

• broader open finance coverage (not just current accounts) 
• standardised, machine-readable data sharing beyond payments 
• stronger customer control over who can access which data, and for how long 

This shift forces banks, fintechs and platforms to think about open banking as part of a long-term API and data strategy, rather than a one-off regulatory project. 

4. Trust, security and data ethics move centre stage 

With more data shared and more AI models built on top, open banking risks are becoming a strategic issue rather than a technical detail. Key concerns include: 

• Data protection and consent management: ensuring consent is granular, time-bound and easy to revoke across multiple providers 
• API and cybersecurity: APIs expand the attack surface and require rigorous testing, monitoring and third-party risk management 
• AI fairness and explainability: making sure AI-driven credit or risk decisions based on open banking data can be explained to customers and regulators 

Recent commentary around FiDA in Europe has also raised questions about data sovereignty and the balance of power between Big Tech, banks and European platforms, underlining how trust and governance will shape the next wave of open banking adoption.  

The role of AI in the next wave of open banking 

AI is increasingly the intelligence layer on top of open banking infrastructure. 

McKinsey’s latest Global Payments Report and related analysis highlight that payments players are already using AI to: 

• optimise payment routing and authorisation 
• detect fraud and financial crime in real time 
• automate compliance and back-office processes⁷ 

When combined with open banking data, AI can deliver: 

Hyper-personalised money management 

• categorising transactions across multiple banks 
• forecasting cash flow and upcoming bills 
• suggesting savings or refinancing options based on behaviour 

Smarter SME credit and treasury 

• analysing transaction histories to power dynamic credit lines 
• detecting early-warning signs of distress in cash-flow patterns 

AI agents acting on behalf of users 

• initiating payments over open banking APIs 
• comparing and switching providers based on real usage data 
• negotiating or allocating funds automatically, within consent boundaries 

Industry analysis from payments providers also points out that AI in payments can deliver frictionless customer experiences and higher productivity, while raising new demands around governance, data quality and model transparency.  

Crucially, as AI becomes more deeply embedded in open banking and embedded finance, regulators and central banks are warning about risks such as model concentration, cybersecurity and systemic vulnerabilities—meaning AI strategy and risk management are now inseparable from open banking strategy.  

And in the UK? 

The UK remains a reference point for open banking globally, even as it faces new competitive pressure and the need to move beyond its first-mover phase. 

According to Open Banking Limited’s Impact Report 2024 and subsequent analysis: 

• by January 2024, 13% of digitally active UK consumers were using open banking services 
• 18% of small businesses were active users 
• open banking payments grew from 68 million in 2022 to 130 million in 2023, with 14.5 million payments in January 2024 alone⁸  

More recent figures indicate that by mid-2025 there were around 13.3 million active open banking users in the UK, roughly a 40% increase on 2024.⁹  

Looking ahead, several UK-specific trends stand out: 

• Pay-by-bank at checkout 
  A growing share of Ecommerce and bill payments is shifting to open-banking–enabled A2A payments, driven by demand from merchants for lower fees and faster settlement. 
• Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) 
  Industry and regulators are working on expanding VRP beyond “sweeping” use cases, potentially creating a flexible, API-driven alternative to direct debits—although implementation and commercial models remain a work in progress. 
• Fintech and embedded finance ecosystem 
  The UK continues to attract significant fintech and embedded-finance investment, with major players building API-first platforms that use open banking data and payments to power B2B and consumer propositions.  
• Regulation and the “Future Entity” 
  The Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC) has been designing a new “Future Entity” to take over from the original Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), with a stronger mandate around payments, data and ecosystem reliability—key to scaling open banking safely.  

In short, the UK is still one of the most advanced open banking markets, but the focus is shifting from building basic connectivity to scaling usage, embedding services and addressing long-term open banking risks. 

Conclusion: what to expect next 

In 2026, open banking is best understood as an API-based, consent-driven infrastructure that feeds embedded finance and AI-powered services across the economy. 

The next few years are likely to bring: 

• broader open finance data sharing under frameworks like FiDA 
• rapid growth in embedded finance volumes and use cases 
• more AI-native products built on top of open banking data and payments 
• sharper regulatory focus on data ethics, AI governance and security 

For banks, fintechs and platforms, the challenge is clear: leverage open banking APIs to build meaningful, embedded and AI-enabled experiences—while keeping trust, resilience and customer control at the centre.