Open finance is a system that lets you safely share your financial data across banks, apps, and platforms so that everything can work together. It connects bank accounts, credit cards, payroll, taxes, invoicing, and accounting information, providing a clearer picture of your money.
What No One Tells You About Open Finance (The Full Story for Small Business Owners)
Together, we’ll figure out what’s useful and skip the stuff that just gets in the way.
If you have heard of open finance but are unsure what it means for your business, you’re not alone. The term gets tossed around as the next big thing in financial tech, but most small business owners are left out of the conversation.
I spent a big part of my career in banking working with small business owners who just wanted to keep their finances on track and maybe grow a little. But honestly? The system wasn’t built for speed, flexibility, or transparency. Getting answers took forever, and getting approved for anything took even longer. It’s time for that to change. I’m not here to hype open finance up or shut it down — I’ve pulled all the facts together so that you can make the best decision for your business.
Quick look: What is open finance?
What it is | It connects all your financial data, from loans and payroll to insurance and accounting, so that apps can help you make smarter money decisions. |
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Why it matters | It gives your small business access to better tools, faster funding, and personalized insights. |
Big opportunity | It offers simpler workflows and better tools that used to be available only to the big companies. |
The catch | Some open finance platforms bury the details and might be sharing more than you realize. |
Open finance is like getting a fast pass to your business’s money. Instead of logging into five different apps just to see where things stand, open finance connects your banking, expenses, payroll, and payments into one clear, real-time view.
It puts you in control, giving you quicker answers and better deals, without the friction of the old system. For small business owners, it means less guesswork, fewer surprises, and more confidence in every financial move you make.
From the inside: My take on open finance as a former banker.
Having spent decades in traditional banking, I can say with confidence that open finance is long overdue. Small business owners were often limited by rigid systems, outdated underwriting, and manual processes. With the right providers and protections, open finance has the power to help your business stay flexible, go digital, and grow faster.
Staff Writer - Finance at Fit Small Business
Open finance is being billed as the next big thing, but what does that actually mean for you? Apps promise to connect all your accounts, help you understand your money better, and even get you access to funding faster. Sounds great, right?
But if you’re like most business owners, you’re probably asking the following:
- What is open finance, really?
- Is my data safe?
- Will this actually help me or just complicate things?
Just getting started? Check out our guide on what business banking is and how it differs from personal banking.
8 things you need to know about open finance
My guide pulls back the curtain on open finance — the real-world advantages, risks, and changes that could shape how you run your business.
1. Guess what? You don’t have to wait on the bank anymore.
- The turning point: Open finance puts you in the driver’s seat, giving you more control over your money. With the right tools, you can check your accounts in real time, move money when you need to, and choose services that actually work for your business.
- Why this matters: You no longer have to wait for monthly statements or rely on someone else to explain your finances. You can see everything as it happens and make smarter decisions in the moment.
- How I see it: When I worked in banking, the bank usually had all the control. Customers had to wait for updates or come in just to get basic information about their accounts. Open finance changes that. Now, business owners can check in anytime, see where they stand, and make decisions without waiting on someone else.
- Here’s how that looks: Relay is an all-in-one business banking and money management platform that gives you a real-time view of your money and connects with your accounting software. You can see your cash flow, set up automatic transfers, and organize your income into different buckets.
2. You don’t fully own your data (even if it feels like you do).
- The turning point: Most open finance platforms still control or store your financial data in ways that aren’t fully visible to you.
- Why it matters: If you’re connecting your business accounts to multiple apps, it’s crucial to know who has access and for how long.
- How I see it: At the bank, every customer signed a privacy disclosure outlining how we collected, used, and shared their financial info. Most people never read it — they just signed the papers and moved on. Today, with open finance and everything happening online, it’s just as easy to overlook what you’re agreeing to. Only now, the data flows a lot further and a lot faster.
- Here’s how that looks: Check out platforms that prioritize transparency and consent-driven data access. For instance, Mercury is a modern business banking option built for startups and tech-driven businesses. It has a strong digital presence and built-in integrations.
3. Big tech is quietly taking over the financial front door.
- The turning point: While banks and fintechs get the spotlight, companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon embed finance into their ecosystems.
- Why it matters: If they win, they may control how small businesses get paid, borrow, or manage money. That could reduce your options or set the rules for you.
- How I see it: Customers are leaning more on technology these days. The invention of digital wallets, payment apps, and budgeting tools has opened the door to more and more platforms. Big tech companies have officially stepped between the customer and the bank. If you’re not paying attention, you may develop a relationship with a platform that does not have your best interests in mind.
4. Regulation is playing catch-up.
- The turning point: In the US, open finance is mostly voluntary, and there is no standardized regulation yet.
- Why it matters: That puts the pressure on you to choose trustworthy platforms that take security, consent, and data protection seriously.
- How I see it: Banking, as I know it, has always been governed by strict regulations, even down to the methods we use to store data. This gave customers an extra layer of protection and data privacy. With open finance, many of the new tools and platforms are not held to those same high standards. When no one’s setting rules, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks.
- Here’s how that looks: A provider like Ramp can help you keep up with spending habits and save money in the process. It is more than just a credit card provider in that it has built-in tools to help business owners manage spending in real-time and track expenses automatically.
5. The right tools can level the playing field.
- The turning point: Open finance is closing the gap between big and small businesses. The same kinds of tools that used to be expensive, hard to get, or locked behind complicated systems are now available to almost anyone.
- Why it matters: You should not have to work harder just because you’re smaller. With the right tools, you can save time, make smarter decisions, and focus more on growing your business instead of chasing numbers.
- How I see it: I worked with plenty of small business owners who managed everything manually. They used spreadsheets, kept paper receipts, and wrote out invoices by hand because the tools bigger companies used were just too expensive or complicated. Now, even the smallest businesses have access to smart tools that automate tasks, connect systems, and support real growth.
- Here’s how that looks: Bluevine, a business banking platform, uses open finance to offer quick lines of credit to qualified businesses based on current performance, not just past statements. It also offers tools that can help your small business work smarter, like built-in bill pay. These are the kinds of features that used to be out of reach for smaller teams but are now easily accessible.
6. More data can lead to faster funding (and sometimes better terms).
- The turning point: With open finance, lenders can look at your real-time cash flow and business health, not just your credit score.
- Why it matters: This could mean faster loan decisions and more flexible offers for small businesses with inconsistent income.
- How I see it: In the traditional lending process, we often had to rely on just a few data points like credit score and account history. That means we missed out on the whole story of a business. With open finance, lenders can see real-time cash flow, payment trends, and income patterns. This kind of data gives strong businesses a better shot at faster approvals and fairer terms, even if they do not check every traditional box.
7. The same data can also be used against you (Yikes!).
- The turning point: The more financial data you share, the more it can be used to automatically approve or deny you for things like loans or insurance.
- Why it matters: Some algorithms may misinterpret temporary dips in revenue or seasonal trends, hurting your access to funding.
- How I see it: I saw a lot of good businesses get overlooked because the numbers didn’t paint a clear picture. Maybe their revenue dropped for a season, or they had one bad month, but the rest of the year was solid. In banking, we could sometimes explain that to the credit team. With open finance, it is often an algorithm making the call, and there is no one to step in and say, “Here is the bigger picture.”
- Here’s how that looks: A sudden drop in revenue, even if it’s seasonal, could make your business look risky to lenders, even if everything else is solid. Found is a banking platform with built-in tools to help you track trends and catch income dips early on.
8. It’s not about access — it’s the insights.
- The turning point: Simply having your data connected isn’t useful. It should be helping you make better decisions.
- Why it matters: The best open finance platforms offer proactive guidance, not just dashboards.
- How I see it: In banking, we gave people statements, reports, and balances, but not always the insight they needed to take action. Most business owners had to figure things out on their own. Open finance has the chance to change that. If the tools are smart enough, they can spot trends, flag issues, and help you make real-time decisions instead of reacting too late.
Looking for more options? Check out our roundup of the best small business checking accounts to find one that matches your business needs and supports open finance tools.
Trusted tools that embrace open finance (and put small businesses first)
Best for | Open finance features | |
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 | Startups & tech-driven businesses |
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Read our Mercury business checking review | ||
 | Small businesses needing high-yield checking |
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Read our Bluevine business checking review | ||
 | Teams seeking shared banking visibility |
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Read our Relay business checking review | ||
 | Businesses managing expenses at scale |
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Read our Ramp review | ||
 | Solopreneurs & freelancers |
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Read our Found business checking review | ||
Platforms like Relay and Found show just how far we’ve come in the world of online banking vs traditional banking. Online banking offers real-time insights, automations, and user-friendly tools you won’t find at a legacy bank.
FAQs small business owners have
No. Open finance covers everything, from loans and payroll to insurance and accounting, whereas open banking only shares data from your checking accounts.
It can be if you’re working with providers who prioritize security and data transparency. Always read the privacy policies and ask how your data is handled.
If you want smarter tools, better visibility, and less time doing manual finance work, open finance might be worth exploring. Just go in with eyes wide open.
What matters most
Open finance is changing how money works, but not everything about it is obvious. For small business owners, it opens the door to powerful tools, faster financing, and simpler systems. But it also comes with risks you can’t afford to ignore. Now that you know the real story, you’ll be better equipped to choose the right tools and use your data to grow your business with confidence.