Budget-Friendly Open Banking Solutions in the UK: A 2025 Guide

Open Banking has become part of the UK’s financial infrastructure, with over 16.3 million users and more than 3 billion payments processed since launch. Businesses of every size now rely on APIs to access live bank data, speed up payments, and meet compliance requirements.

Yet for many startups and SMEs, cost remains the biggest barrier. Traditional providers often charge high setup fees, minimum usage commitments, or ongoing monthly retainers, making Open Banking feel out of reach for the very businesses it could benefit most.

Today, a new wave of budget-friendly open banking solutions is changing that. These providers focus on flexible, usage-based pricing and faster deployment, giving UK businesses affordable access to the same infrastructure that powers large enterprises.

In this guide, we’ll break down the top low-cost providers in the UK, their pricing approaches, and which types of businesses each one suits best.

Why Affordability Matters in Open Banking

Most SMEs can’t adopt Open Banking unless providers offer budget-friendly open banking solutions because high setup fees and rigid pricing models put them at a disadvantage compared to large enterprises.

Open Banking in the UK has already passed 16 million active users, but adoption is uneven. For startups and SMEs, affordability decides whether they can participate or get left behind.

The Cost Barrier for SMEs

Traditional providers create hurdles with:

• Set up fees that inflate entry costs.
• Minimum usage commitments that SMEs can’t match.
• Bundled contracts where firms pay for unnecessary features.

Why Affordability Decides Adoption

If solutions stay expensive:

• SMEs delay replacing cards and BACS.
• Accountants and payroll firms keep relying on PDFs and manual inputs.
• Startups lose competitiveness against firms with bigger budgets.

This is why demand for affordable open banking UK providers has surged.

The Shift Toward Cost-Effective Models

New providers are introducing:

• Usage-based pricing → pay only for what you use.
• Faster deployment → less time, fewer dev costs.
• Scalable contracts → start small, grow when ready.

That’s why 2025 is the year budget-friendly open banking solutions are becoming the norm, not the exception.

Comparing Budget-Friendly Open Banking Solutions

Provider	Pricing Model	Key Features	Best For
Finexer	Usage-based, no setup or cancellation fees; up to 90% savings on transactions	AIS + PIS with 99% UK bank coverage, FCA-authorised, faster deployment, white-label options	SMEs, startups, accounting and payroll firms needing cost-efficient APIs
TrueLayer	Transaction-based, tiered pricing	Payments + Data APIs, developer tools, VRPs, refunds	Fintechs and platforms needing reliable, developer-friendly infrastructure
Salt Edge	Modular pricing (AIS, PIS, enrichment sold separately)	AIS, PIS, transaction categorisation, compliance-ready	Banks, lenders, financial services firms seeking targeted APIs
Bud	Modular pricing (enrichment + AIS)	Transaction categorisation, affordability insights, FCA-authorised	Lenders and financial services firms focused on affordability and data insights

How Finexer Delivers Budget-Friendly Open Banking Solutions

Finexer is designed to remove the biggest financial barriers that SMEs and mid-sized firms face when adopting Open Banking. Instead of locking businesses into enterprise-style contracts, Finexer’s model is built around flexibility, transparency, and affordability.

• Complete AIS + PIS Coverage → Secure account data access plus direct account-to-account payments in one solution.
• 99% UK Bank Coverage → Broad connectivity ensures businesses don’t need multiple providers.
• Usage-Based Pricing → Pay only for API calls, with no minimum commitments.
• No Setup or Cancellation Fees → Adopt Open Banking at low risk, scale only when volumes grow.
• Up to 90% Savings on Transaction Costs → Payments eliminate card networks, lowering the cost of payouts, payroll, and refunds.
• 2–3× Faster Deployment → Integrations go live faster, cutting development overhead.
• FCA-Authorised Infrastructure → Regulatory compliance is built in, saving firms compliance and legal costs.
• White-Label Dashboards → Ready-to-use client-facing interfaces under your own brand.

For SMEs, this means Open Banking adoption is finally possible without draining budgets upfront or being locked into long-term contracts.

Success Story: Sysynkt’s Partnership with Finexer

Sysynkt, a B2B automation platform, needed an Open Banking partner that could support enterprise clients with seamless accounting integrations and strict compliance. Most providers were focused on consumer use cases, leaving little for business-specific needs.

Finexer stepped in with a budget-friendly open banking solution offering tailored APIs, straightforward implementation, and FCA-compliant infrastructure. The partnership was built on flexibility and collaboration, not generic contracts.

“Finexer’s willingness to work closely with us, rather than treating us as just another customer, was truly refreshing.”
— Penny Phillips, Chief Commercial Officer, Sysynkt

Today, Sysynkt sees Finexer as a long-term partner, combining affordability with enterprise-grade reliability for business-focused Open Banking.

TrueLayer

Best For

Fintech platforms and developer-heavy teams that need well-documented APIs for payments and financial data access.

Key Features

• Payments + Data APIs → TrueLayer combines account information and payment initiation in a single API.
• Developer Tools → Provides sandbox testing, SDKs, and pre-built UI flows to help teams prototype faster.
• Market Adoption → Used by well-known fintech and retail platforms, showing it can handle scale reliably.
• Compliance → FCA-authorised and PSD2-compliant, with support for instant payments, variable recurring payments (VRPs), and refunds.

Pricing Approach

TrueLayer works on a tiered pricing model, starting with free sandbox access for development, and moving into usage-based fees for live transactions. Pricing scales with transaction volume, with custom terms for larger enterprises.

Why It’s Cost-Conscious

• Sandbox testing reduces costs during early development.
• Combining data and payments in one integration avoids the expense of multiple vendors.
• Transaction-based pricing means businesses can scale usage gradually.

TrueLayer is most often chosen by fintechs that value developer experience and stable infrastructure, while Finexer remains the stronger option for SMEs and firms focused on budget-friendly open banking solutions.

Salt Edge

Best For

Banks, lenders, and fintech firms that need secure access to account information and payment initiation across the UK and Europe.

Key Features

• Account Information Services (AIS) → Access to real-time bank data for affordability checks, lending decisions, and financial insights.
• Payment Initiation Services (PIS) → Enables direct account-to-account payments without relying on card networks.
• Data Enrichment → Categorisation of transactions to provide clearer financial insights for credit, risk, or budgeting applications.
• Compliance Coverage → PSD2 and GDPR compliant, with strong security infrastructure for regulated businesses.

Pricing Approach

Salt Edge offers modular pricing based on the specific APIs used. Businesses can pay only for AIS, PIS, or enrichment features rather than bundled services. This keeps costs more predictable and avoids paying for unused functionality.

Why It’s Cost-Conscious

• Modular setup avoids unnecessary spend on features not in use.
• Real-time payments reduce reliance on expensive card rails.
• Data enrichment can cut internal costs for firms that would otherwise build their own categorisation logic.

Bud Financial

Best For

Lenders, banks, and financial services firms that need transaction data categorisation and enrichment to improve affordability checks and customer insights.

Key Features

• Account Information Services (AIS) → Secure access to bank account data across major UK banks.
• Transaction Categorisation → Converts raw banking data into structured categories for clearer analysis.
• Affordability & Risk Insights → Useful for credit decisions, income verification, and financial management.
• Regulatory Alignment → FCA-authorised and compliant with PSD2 and GDPR standards.

Pricing Approach

Bud uses a modular pricing model, allowing firms to choose and pay for AIS, enrichment, or specific insights separately. This avoids paying for bundled features that may not be needed.

Why It’s Cost-Conscious

• Eliminates the need to build costly in-house categorisation tools.
• Modular pricing ensures firms pay only for the features they use.
• Speeds up affordability checks, saving time and operational costs for lenders.

How to Choose the Right Budget-Friendly Open Banking Solution

Selecting the right provider depends on your business size, use case, and budget priorities. Here are the key factors to weigh before making a decision:

• Business Size and Stage
  • Smaller firms and startups benefit most from pay-as-you-go pricing with no upfront commitments.
  • Larger fintechs or banks may prefer providers that bundle data and payments together.
• Use Case
  • If your focus is on cost-effective payments and bank data for accounting or payroll, choose a provider like Finexer that eliminates setup and cancellation fees.
  • If your priority is transaction categorisation or enrichment, options like Bud and Salt Edge provide specialised APIs.
• Pricing Model
  • Look for providers that let you start small and expand only as transaction volumes increase.
  • Avoid long-term contracts or bundled packages if you won’t use all the included features.
• Compliance and Reliability
  • Ensure the provider is FCA-authorised in the UK.
  • Check whether compliance costs are covered at the infrastructure level, which can save your team significant time and expense.

For SMEs and mid-sized firms, the balance usually comes down to flexibility and cost control. Providers like Finexer are built around these needs, making Open Banking adoption low-risk and affordable without compromising compliance or coverage.