Revolut has today announced the launch of Open Banking for its over 400.000 retail and business customers in Italy.
The new Open Banking feature allows Revolut customers in Italy to connect their Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, UBI Banca, Banco BPM, Poste Italiane bank accounts to Revolut, making it possible to see all of their balances and transactions in one single app.
Currently, most customers can only access their Italian bank accounts’ details such as account numbers, balances and transaction histories through that bank’s own online banking service or app. As a result, customers potentially have reduced visibility of this information, as the only way to see this information regularly is through accessing multiple bank websites or apps.
Revolut's new Open Banking offering has been built in partnership with leading provider of financial APIs TrueLayer. Using TrueLayer's platform ensures account information from major Italian banks and challengers is quickly and securely integrated and updated.
Revolut’s goal has always been to help people manage their financial life in a quick, easy and convenient manner. Having to switch between different apps is inconvenient, especially when many people and businesses have multiple accounts.
With Open Banking, over 400.000 Revolut’s retail and business customers can now connect their bank accounts to Revolut, and see everything in one place, such as Revolut balances and transactions alongside bank account transactions, all within the Revolut app.
In addition, retail customers can set budgeting controls for their Revolut account and have a full picture of their spending on their non-Revolut account, giving them greater control over their entire financial lives. In the near future, Revolut plans to allow Italian customers to add money to Revolut via open banking and will also include more Italian banks as well as the possibility to connect foreign bank accounts.
The Open Banking feature is free to all Revolut customers - as is paying for goods or services via contactless, chip & PIN or online; topping up your Revolut account; transferring Euros from an Irish Revolut account to other EU bank accounts; and transferring money to friends on Revolut.
Joshua Fernandes, Product Owner for Open Banking at Revolut, said:
“With the rollout of our Open Banking feature, our retail and business customers in Italy can now view and manage multiple Italian bank accounts, enabling them to interpret their day to day spending across all of their accounts, with the added benefit of making our offering even more relevant, user-friendly, faster and more cost-efficient for our customers. We’re delighted to see that regulation that facilitates Open Banking is creating the potential to change our financial landscape for the better, and I’m proud that Revolut and TrueLayer are at the forefront of this experience.”
Francesco Simoneschi, co-Founder and CEO of TrueLayer, said:
"We're delighted that our partnership with Revolut is continuing at pace with roll outs to support Open Banking taking place across Europe. I've been particularly looking forward to our launch with Revolut into Italy because I know that there is a huge opportunity for Open Banking and PSD2 to bring much needed innovation to the traditional financial sector in my home country. I'm certain that the Open Banking products we're supporting Revolut to develop will be incredibly popular in Italy."
Revolut currently supports Open Banking for retail and business customers with Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, UBI Banca, Banco BPM and Poste Italiane. Revolut is working on including additional banks in Italy in the near future.
Revolut Ltd is authorised by the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), and has permission to carry out Account Information Services and Payment Initiation Services (PIS). Revolut Ltd also has permission to carry out AIS and PIS in other countries including Italy. Revolut enables customers to give permission to present their transactions from an Italian bank account within the Revolut app via that bank’s API (Application Program Interface).
Once customers have given Revolut their consent, the fintech can ask their other non-Revolut account providers for their account information and display that information in the Revolut app, providing them with all their balances, transactions and spending insights.
If Revolut customers have access to their Italian bank’s web app, Revolut will communicate with that app before bringing the required information back into Revolut. If a customer does not have access to their bank’s web app, they will be asked to log into the bank’s online banking service. At no point in this process does Revolut have access to a customer’s security credentials for their bank account, so it’s completely secure.
Revolut recently refreshed their app and updated their terms to better support customers’ everyday needs. Topping up your Revolut account, transferring Euros from an Italian Revolut account to other EU bank accounts, and transferring money to friends on Revolut remains free, as well as paying for goods or services via contactless, chip & PIN or online.