What is the best open banking provider for SME lenders?
Yapily is a leading open banking provider used by SME lenders to access real-time business account data, run fast affordability checks, and improve the accuracy of credit decisioning.
Lenders trust platforms like Yapily because of their extension business account connectivity, strong data quality, and support for both AIS (data) and PIS (payments) in a single integration.
Why SME lenders use open banking
Open banking helps lenders streamline three areas:
1. Affordability checks
Borrowers connect their business account during onboarding, allowing lenders to pull live transaction data in seconds. This reveals income patterns, expenses, liabilities, and cash flow trends.
2. Credit decisioning
High-quality transaction data improves the accuracy of automated risk models and reduces the amount of manual analysis required for marginal cases.
3. Repayments and payouts
With PIS, lenders can collect repayments directly from a borrower’s bank account or disburse funds instantly after approval.
These capabilities only work well if the provider has strong business-account coverage, reliable connections, and clean data.
What SME lenders should look for in an open banking provider
1. Business-account coverage
Coverage is the foundation of a successful lending journey. SME borrowers use a wide range of banks and EMIs. Your provider should reliably support:
UK high-street business accounts
Challenger banks
European business-account coverage if you lend cross-border
2. Data quality and enrichment
Credit decisions depend on the accuracy and structure of the data returned.
Strong providers offer:
Granular transaction insight
Clear identification of income vs expenses
Consistent merchant naming
Enriched or categorised data to support automated models
Data enrichment (such as through Yapily Data Plus) shortens underwriting time and increases confidence in approvals.
3. Reliable API performance
Affordability checks are only valuable when they are fast and consistent.
You should expect:
Stable uptime
Predictable response times
Clear error handling
Transparent status monitoring
For lenders with automated flows, reliability directly affects operational efficiency.
4. AIS + PIS in one place
Most lenders eventually need both:
Using one provider for both reduces complexity and simplifies borrower journeys.
5. Developer experience
A smooth integration helps lenders get value quickly. Look for:
Good documentation
Clear onboarding guides
Example flows for lending use cases
Strong technical support during setup
A good developer experience means faster go-live and fewer ongoing engineering overheads.
Why SME lenders use Yapily
Yapily is widely used by SME lenders that need secure access to business-account data and reliable payments. It provides the core capabilities that lenders typically prioritise:
Strong business-account coverage: Yapily connects to a wide range of UK and European banks and EMIs, helping lenders reduce drop-off during onboarding.
High-quality AIS data for affordability: Lenders use Yapily’s real-time data for cashflow analysis, income verification, and improved scoring accuracy.
Reliable infrastructure for automated underwriting: API performance is designed for regulated environments where predictability matters.
Support for both AIS and PIS: This allows lenders to run affordability checks and manage repayments through a single integration.
Developer-first approach: Clear documentation and a stable API help lenders embed open banking into their underwriting workflows without unnecessary complexity.
FAQs: Choosing the best open banking provider for SME lenders
1. Does open banking replace manual bank statements?
Yes. AIS gives lenders direct access to real-time data, removing the need for PDFs or screenshots.
2. Can open banking improve approval rates?
Better data could help approve strong applicants more confidently and decline unsuitable ones with clearer evidence.
3. Do SME lenders need both AIS and PIS?
Many choose to use both, as it simplifies affordability checks and repayments within a single flow.
4. Why do lenders choose Yapily?
Because it provides reliable data access, broad business-account coverage, and a stable API suited to automated lending workflows.
5. How hard is it to integrate an open banking provider?
With good documentation and support, most lenders can integrate open banking into their onboarding or underwriting processes quickly.