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This looks great! We've been building a wealth tracker with https://markets.sh https://markets.sh and were a bit flabbergasted when people started "abusing" our

This looks great! We've been building a wealth tracker with https://markets.sh https://markets.sh and were a bit flabbergasted when people started "abusing" our automatically syncing Yodlee connection to hook up all of their checking and credit card accounts (technically we market only for brokerages and investment accounts). We have a free and simple API and plain CSV download which in itself seems to be a real pain point for people. Apparently, just being able to pull your financial data into open-source tools and excel could be a product since Yodlee and other aggregators are often too expensive and technical to set up for individuals. I think we need to force all financial companies to have a modern API and OAuth available for everyone via legislation.

lukebennett 3y ago
> I think we need to force all financial companies to have a modern API and OAuth available for everyone via legislation. That already exists[0] in the UK [0] https://www.openbanking.org.uk/ https://www.openbanking.org.uk/
- halotrope 3y ago
  Europe has a shot too but what i’ve found is that the API’s are often so clunky and bad that they might as well not exist
- domh 3y ago
  It's been a little while since I've looked into the Open Banking API stuff - how easy is it to use this API as a consumer? Or do I have to create a business and apply for a license in order to use it?
  - jon-wood 3y ago
    Open Banking is in some ways misnamed - you can't as an end-user just do OAuth and get a data feed out of your account, you'll have to go via a third party who've jumped through all the hoops.
    - domh 3y ago
      Got it! That's what I thought (feared). I wonder if there are ever plans to open it up to general use, or if it would be easy as an end user to jump said hoops. I wonder if there are any open source third parties?
      - buzer 3y ago
        I don't know about open source ones, but I did find Enable Banking (https://old.reddit.com/r/eupersonalfinance/comments/k4ny3j/free_api_access_to_currrent_cards_accounts_data/ https://old.reddit.com/r/eupersonalfinance/comments/k4ny3j/f...) offering free access to your own accounts. I don't know if "offer" still stands, the FAQ is not very explicit on it (it only talks about testing, https://enablebanking.com/docs/faq/#can-i-test-the-api-before-signing-a-contract-with-enable-banking https://enablebanking.com/docs/faq/#can-i-test-the-api-befor... & https://enablebanking.com/docs/api/linked-accounts/ https://enablebanking.com/docs/api/linked-accounts/). I tried it, but I couldn't get things working sandbox environment so I ended up giving up and just do manual exports.
      - rmesters 3y ago
        GoCardless has an API that’s connected to 2.3k banks in Europe and UK. Free to use (up to a limit). Not open source though. Link: https://gocardless.com/bank-account-data/ https://gocardless.com/bank-account-data/ [I work at GoCardless]
lelo_tp 3y ago
yep. That's exactly what's happening in Brazil - https://www.bcb.gov.br/en/financialstability/open_finance https://www.bcb.gov.br/en/financialstability/open_finance similar to how the central bank forced every major bank to adopt PIX (our instant payment system), they're doing the same with open banking. Sure, it's not exactly "open" for end users. But now, as a company, I can build a personal finance app without asking for my end users bank account password. This is so much better UX-wise.
deleted 3y ago
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lukebennett 3y ago

> I think we need to force all financial companies to have a modern API and OAuth available for everyone via legislation. That already exists[0] in the UK [0] https://www.openbanking.org.uk/ https://www.openbanking.org.uk/

halotrope 3y ago
Europe has a shot too but what i’ve found is that the API’s are often so clunky and bad that they might as well not exist
domh 3y ago
It's been a little while since I've looked into the Open Banking API stuff - how easy is it to use this API as a consumer? Or do I have to create a business and apply for a license in order to use it?
- jon-wood 3y ago
  Open Banking is in some ways misnamed - you can't as an end-user just do OAuth and get a data feed out of your account, you'll have to go via a third party who've jumped through all the hoops.
  - domh 3y ago
    Got it! That's what I thought (feared). I wonder if there are ever plans to open it up to general use, or if it would be easy as an end user to jump said hoops. I wonder if there are any open source third parties?
    - buzer 3y ago
      I don't know about open source ones, but I did find Enable Banking (https://old.reddit.com/r/eupersonalfinance/comments/k4ny3j/free_api_access_to_currrent_cards_accounts_data/ https://old.reddit.com/r/eupersonalfinance/comments/k4ny3j/f...) offering free access to your own accounts. I don't know if "offer" still stands, the FAQ is not very explicit on it (it only talks about testing, https://enablebanking.com/docs/faq/#can-i-test-the-api-before-signing-a-contract-with-enable-banking https://enablebanking.com/docs/faq/#can-i-test-the-api-befor... & https://enablebanking.com/docs/api/linked-accounts/ https://enablebanking.com/docs/api/linked-accounts/). I tried it, but I couldn't get things working sandbox environment so I ended up giving up and just do manual exports.
    - rmesters 3y ago
      GoCardless has an API that’s connected to 2.3k banks in Europe and UK. Free to use (up to a limit). Not open source though. Link: https://gocardless.com/bank-account-data/ https://gocardless.com/bank-account-data/ [I work at GoCardless]

lelo_tp 3y ago

yep. That's exactly what's happening in Brazil - https://www.bcb.gov.br/en/financialstability/open_finance https://www.bcb.gov.br/en/financialstability/open_finance similar to how the central bank forced every major bank to adopt PIX (our instant payment system), they're doing the same with open banking. Sure, it's not exactly "open" for end users. But now, as a company, I can build a personal finance app without asking for my end users bank account password. This is so much better UX-wise.

deleted 3y ago

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