WORKING IN THE CLOUD

Why PSD2 security is great news for your business

Published 18 Apr 20194 min read

Open Banking is a series of UK reforms which focus on how banks handle your financial information. The Open Banking initiative runs alongside Europe’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) which came into force in January 2018.

PSD2 means all UK-regulated banks must let you share your financial data with authorised third party providers. That means more personalised services, whether you’re using accounting software or other financial products.

Under Open Banking and PSD2, current standard bank feeds (also known as screen scraping) will be replaced by a new type of direct feeds. If you’re a QuickBooks customer and have connected your bank, it is likely that you will need to update your bank feeds, as and when these get changed by your bank. Updates to the regulations has meant that there is now a six month extension (until 14 March 2020) for banks to comply with all the changes.

The team at QuickBooks is continuing to work closely with all banks to help make the transition as seamless as possible for all our customers. As we know more we’ll speak to impacted customers directly about the change to their feeds.

Open Banking allows you to share data and financial information without handing over any passwords or login details to anyone. You’ll simply use your online banking credentials to authorise requests.

Third-party providers, including FMS providers like Intuit QuickBooks, will ask for your consent to access your banking info. A request will be sent to your bank where you log in and authorise the request, and give consent to share your data. Banks are obliged to do this if you consent. However, you can easily withdraw your permission at any time.

If you’re not comfortable sharing your account data with anyone else, you don’t have to. Of course, you’ll miss out on some time-saving features, but it’s your call.

PSD2 secure customer authentication

If you’re not comfortable sharing your account data with anyone else, you don’t have to. Of course, you’ll miss out on some time-saving features, but it’s your call.

Know who you’re dealing with

Third parties will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or another European regulator. Once registered, they appear on the FCA’s Register, and/or the Open Banking Directory.

It’s easy to check if a company you’re going to share your details with is authorized under the new PSD2 regulations. Providers should make it clear on their website or app and list their registration number. You’ll be glad to know that Intuit QuickBooks was one of the first third party providers granted authorization by the FCA (PSD 792934) – see for yourself.

Strict limits on access

Providers will only be able to access the data they need to fulfil the service you’ve signed up to. So for example, if you’ve authorised a provider to access your current account with a particular bank, they wouldn’t be able to look at a credit card account you hold with that bank unless you give specific permission.

PSD2 security requirements

Banks require strengthened security as part of Open Banking and PSD2. The security measures they take are likely to include real-time webpage monitoring solutions – which are designed to detect signs of malware infection, data capture or manipulation by unauthorized parties.

These additional layers of security will allow financial institutions to react immediately to deter potential fraud, instead of trying to recover funds after they’ve been stolen. So you can bank with greater confidence.

Find this article about Open Banking and PSD2 useful? Did you know our QuickBooks blog covers a wide range of business-related topics designed to help you grow and develop your business?

Discover the QuickBooks blog