With over 13 million active users and over 31 million open banking payments processed each month by 2025, open banking is quickly changing the financial landscape in the UK. This expansion demonstrates the growing use of PSD2-compliant APIs for safe, instantaneous payments and access to account information. Businesses and fintechs in the UK that use these APIs benefit from improved financial insights and quicker, safer payment initiation. Selecting the best PSD2-compliant API supplier is crucial for managing regulatory compliance and optimising Open Banking’s advantages. This guide compares the features, market fit, and compliance of the leading PSD2-compliant API providers in the UK.

Understanding PSD2 and Open Banking in the UK

The regulatory framework known as PSD2 (the Second Payment Services Directive) opens up a new era of innovation for UK financial services by granting third-party providers (TPPs) access to payment account data. By implementing stringent security procedures and consent frameworks to safeguard customers and promote competition and improved experiences, Open Banking makes these laws a reality.

The UK has upheld strong open banking regulations since Brexit and requires FCA authorisation for service providers handling sensitive financial information or payments. Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), data encryption, and secure consent management are requirements that all APIs must adhere to.

Comparison of Leading PSD2-Compliant API Providers in the UK (2025)

Provider Comparison

Provider	UK Bank Coverage	Unique Offerings	Core API Capabilities
Finexer	99%+ Coverage	Fast deployment (2-3x faster), personalised onboarding, comprehensive compliance management	Payments, Account Data, White-label APIs
TrueLayer	UK & EU-wide	Unified API for payments and data, electronic money institution status	Payments (including VRPs), Data Aggregation
SaltEdge	Global 5,000+ banks	Open Banking Compliance & Infrastructure provider	AIS, PIS, Data Enrichment
Tink	Pan-European 6,000+	Advanced analytics dashboards, developer-friendly	Payments, Data Aggregation, Analytics
Plaid	UK & Global	Strong security focus, consistent global APIs	Payments, Account Verification

Finexer: The Gold Standard for PSD2 Compliance

Finexer is the best PSD2-compliant API for the UK. With coverage of 99% of UK banks, Finexer offers a comprehensive, business-driven open banking platform as an FCA-authorised payment institution under PSD2.

• Seamless Integration: Businesses can obtain validated financial information and payments with little setup thanks to Finexer’s Open Banking API. Fast onboarding and complete regulatory compliance are advantages for UK businesses, and both consumer and business-to-business account integrations are supported.
• Enterprise-Grade Security: Strong customer authentication, reliable encryption, and complete consent/audit logging are used in every transaction and data request, meeting or surpassing FCA security standards without requiring clients to create their own compliance frameworks.
• Business-Focused Solutions: For industries ranging from accounting to legal to SaaS platforms, Finexer provides white-label APIs, committed support, and customised solutions. Finexer is trusted by partners like Sysynkt and VirtualSignature-ID for safe automation and government-approved identity verification.
• Total Compliance: All technical, legal, and audit requirements are met by businesses that use Finexer, which operates under its FCA licence. Compliance is always taken care of, whether it’s enabling instant account-to-account payments or accessing real-time bank data.

Pros:

• Finexer’s open banking covers 99% of UK banks.
• Usage-based pricing without setup or cancellation fees
• Instant settlement and real-time payment status updates
• entirely white-label procedures to ensure seamless branding.
• High adherence to PSD2 and FCA

Cons:

• Although new to the market, it is expanding quickly in the UK.

Why should you choose Finexer?

• As the leading PSD2-compliant API supplier designed especially for UK companies, Finexer stands out. Finexer provides unparalleled access to real-time bank data and instant payment initiation through the UK’s Faster Payments infrastructure.
• Because Finexer’s platform is designed for quick deployment, companies can integrate intricate payment and data workflows up to three times quicker than is generally the case in the industry. Together with a customised onboarding process and continuous compliance assistance, this acceleration lessens the operational load on your company.
• Finxer is perfect for fintechs, accounting platforms, e-commerce companies, and regulated industries like legal and financial services because it enables users to safely access enriched financial insights while adhering to UK Open Banking rules.

TrueLayer

More than half of the open banking traffic in the UK and Europe is powered by TrueLayer, one of the most well-known open banking providers in these regions. For safe real-time account information, payment initiation, refunds, and merchant payouts, the platform provides strong APIs. TrueLayer gives companies the ability to securely and compliantly connect their customers’ bank accounts for data and payments.

Features:

• extensive coverage of EU and UK banks
• APIs for real-time account data and payment initiation
• Refunds and variable recurring payments (VRPs) are supported.
• SDKs that are easy for developers to use and hosted payment flows
• High security combined with the status of an electronic money institution

Pros:

• dependable, extensively used platform that powers well-known fintechs.
• A single unified API for data and payments reduces integration overhead.
• Outstanding documentation and developer support
• High efficiency of payment conversion

Cons:

• For smaller UK businesses, pricing and banking coverage might be less flexible.
• primarily concentrated on larger fintechs and businesses
• Complex onboarding procedures might be necessary for certain features.

SaltEdge

With PSD2-compliant AIS and PIS APIs, Salt Edge serves fintechs, lenders, and financial institutions by connecting to more than 5,000 banks globally. With its emphasis on regulatory compliance, GDPR adherence, and ISO 27001 certification, their platform is appropriate for organisations requiring stringent security and cross-border banking integrations.

Features:

• links to more than 5,000 banks worldwide, including well-known UK banks.
• Completely GDPR compliant and ISO 27001 certified for data security
• supports Payment Initiation Services (PIS) and Account Information Services (AIS) that are PSD2-compliant.
• Features for real-time authentication and sophisticated consent management
• APIs for rich data enrichment that go beyond the fundamentals of open banking

Pros:

• Perfect for global fintech companies that need extensive cross-border bank connectivity.
• Extensive regulatory compliance and high security standards
• provides comprehensive data insights to enable sophisticated financial services.

Cons:

• Less specialised assistance and solutions for UK PSD2 compliance
• More expensive and difficult onboarding for companies that only operate in the UK
• could make things more complicated for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK.

Tink

Banks and fintechs use Tink, a well-known open banking platform in Europe, to gain safe access to more than 6,000 financial institutions, including those in the UK. Tink is excellent at aggregating data, verifying accounts, and initiating payments while adhering to PSD2 and Strong Customer Authentication rules.

Features:

• Access to more than 6,000 financial institutions in the UK and Europe
• Complete open banking data collection and payment processing
• Strong dashboards for insights and analytics
• Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) and PSD2 compliance
• supports enhanced transaction data and account verification.

Pros:

• Perfect for businesses operating in multiple European countries
• Rich data services that go beyond basic payment APIs
• strong emphasis on technical documentation and developer experience

Cons:

• Reduced support and service customisation focused on the UK
• could make applications limited to the UK more complicated.
• Instead of focusing on UK SMEs, pricing may reflect a pan-European scale.

Plaid

Plaid is well-known throughout the world for its secure data aggregation and payment initiation services, and it offers FCA-authorised open banking APIs for the UK market. In addition to supporting instant payments, transaction history access, and account verification, their platform places a strong emphasis on adhering to UK regulatory standards.

Features:

• FCA-approved for GDPR and PSD2 compliance in the UK
• APIs for payment initiation, transaction data aggregation, and account verification
• High security requirements, such as eIDAS certification
• Infrastructure that is scalable and supports international fintech operations
• Developer tools that are easy to use and comprehensive API documentation

Pros:

• platform that is widely trusted and has a consistent API design
• Robust security and compliance systems for regulated markets
• dependable for international banking and fintech services

Cons:

• Lacks local industry focus and service customisations tailored to the UK
• For UK startups and SMEs, pricing and onboarding can be challenging.
• might be less quick to adjust to specific UK PSD2 regulations.

So how do you choose the right PSD2-compliant API provider for your business?

For UK companies looking for secure payment and account information services under the UK’s Open Banking framework, selecting the best PSD2-compliant API provider is crucial. Important requirements consist of:

• Account Information Services (AIS) and Payment Initiation Services (PIS) should be easily accessible through the provider’s connections to at least 99% of UK banks.

• FCA Authorisation: To ensure PSD2 compliance, including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), the provider must possess FCA authorisation for AISP and PISP roles.

• API Features: Look for support for variable recurring payments (VRPs), instant refunds, real-time consent management, and developer-friendly SDKs with sandbox environments.

• Security & Compliance: To comply with PSD2 Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) and GDPR, robust encryption, fraud detection, and audit trails are necessary.

• Pricing Flexibility: Select service providers that offer clear, usage-based, or subscription pricing based on the volume of transactions and size of your company.

• Local Support: To expedite API integration, choose providers with UK-based teams that offer individualised onboarding and compliance advice.

• Extended Ecosystem: In addition to PSD2 requirements, integration with premium banking APIs or other non-bank data sources can provide value.

You should assess your requirements and choose the best one that also offers quick and easy integration.

Conclusion

Fintechs and businesses now have a plethora of opportunities to innovate with safe, real-time payments and enhanced access to financial data thanks to the UK’s PSD2 and Open Banking regulations. To guarantee smooth integration, complete FCA compliance, strong security, and wide UK bank coverage, choosing the best PSD2 compliant API provider is essential.

Strong PSD2-compliant APIs are available from providers like Finexer, TrueLayer, Salt Edge, Tink, and Plaid; however, Finexer is the best option for UK companies wishing to take full advantage of open banking because of its unparalleled 99% UK bank connectivity, flexible pricing, quick onboarding, and committed UK market knowledge.

With Finexer, your FCA-approved UK Open Banking partner, you can reduce complexity and speed up growth. Maintain complete PSD2 compliance while providing account services and payments that are quicker and more intelligent. To stay ahead in the UK fintech market, pick Finexer right now.