Truist Financial Corporation , launched its first open banking integration, partnering with Mastercard to provide consumers and small businesses with greater control over their financial data. The new platform aims to streamline access to fintech applications, offering a more secure and personalized banking experience.
The initiative centers on an API-based platform that allows Truist’s clients to connect directly to Mastercard’s open finance technology. This connection enables secure, centralized access to financial data, unlocking opportunities for transparency, personalization and control within a growing ecosystem of fintech apps. Crucially, the system is designed to allow users to manage which applications can access their data and for what specific purposes, eliminating the need to share usernames or passwords.
“Open banking digitally empowers Truist clients and small business owners with secure, personalized experiences and a more holistic view of their financial lives,” said Sherry Graziano, Truist’s Head of Digital, Client Experience and Marketing. “This platform provides more secure data sharing, new pathways for those with limited credit histories, more choices for how to pay and get paid, and better insight into overall financial health, all with the safeguards our clients expect.”
The selection of Mastercard as Truist’s initial API integration partner underscores the importance of security and established infrastructure in the rollout of open banking services. Mastercard’s open finance platform provides industry-leading API connectivity, ensuring a trusted and secure data-driven experience for Truist’s customer base. Bart Willaert, Executive Vice President, Open Finance, Americas at Mastercard, emphasized the critical role of trust in realizing the full potential of open banking, stating, “Secure, convenient financial experiences are a gamechanger–but trust is the critical ingredient to ensuring clients and businesses can tap into their full potential.”
The move by Truist comes as open banking adoption in the United States lags behind other regions, such as the United Kingdom. While the concept of open banking – allowing third-party financial service providers access to banking information with consumer consent – has gained traction globally, concerns about data security and privacy have hindered its widespread acceptance in the U.S. Market. According to recent PYMNTS Intelligence data, only around 11% of U.S. Consumers currently utilize open banking payments.
A significant barrier to adoption remains consumer apprehension regarding the security of sharing financial data. A PYMNTS study revealed that 56% of U.S. Consumers who haven’t used open banking cite security and trust concerns as primary deterrents. Despite this, nearly 43% of consumers do trust their banks to deliver open banking services, indicating a potential pathway for increased adoption through established financial institutions like Truist.
Truist’s approach, by prioritizing secure data sharing and user control, appears designed to address these concerns directly. The tokenized access system, which avoids the sharing of sensitive login credentials, is a key component of this strategy. By leveraging Mastercard’s established security infrastructure, Truist aims to build confidence among its clients and encourage greater participation in the open banking ecosystem.
This launch is part of a broader trend of innovation at Truist. Earlier this month, on , the bank announced the launch of a new, AI-enabled integrated receivables platform. This platform utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the process of matching payments to invoices for corporate and commercial customers, further streamlining financial operations and reducing friction in back-office processes. The receivables platform, like the open banking initiative, focuses on unifying disparate data sources to improve efficiency and provide greater financial visibility.
The success of Truist’s open banking integration will likely depend on its ability to effectively communicate the security benefits of the platform to its customers and to demonstrate the value of connecting to a wider range of fintech applications. As open banking continues to evolve in the U.S., the emphasis on trust, security, and user control will be paramount in driving adoption and unlocking the full potential of this emerging financial technology.
