When you are looking for funding options, you want instant decisions and a secure, frictionless way to share your financial health with potential lenders. The gold standard for sharing your financial information today is Open Banking. This guide provides a practical understanding of how this technology works in 2026 and answers your most frequent questions.
Open Banking – What is it?
Open Banking is a secure, regulated framework that allows you to share your bank account information with authorized third parties via APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).
It allows you to grant permission to trusted apps and services to access your data directly, entirely removing the manual burden of uploading PDF statements or sending sensitive documents via email.
Data Security and Regulation
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to regulate Open Banking in the UK, supported by the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC), ensuring that only authorized firms can access your data.
- You are in Control: You are the only person who can grant access to your data.
- Encryption: All data is transmitted using high-level encryption standards.
- Revocation: You have the legal “right to be forgotten” and can revoke access through our portal or your banking app at any time.
At Sigma Lending, we partner with Plaid and GoCardless, two global leaders in bank payment and data technology, to ensure your information is handled with institutional-grade security.
What are the benefits of connecting?
- Security: Avoid the risks associated with manual document sharing and email interception.
- User Experience: Connect your data in seconds via biometrics (FaceID/Fingerprint) on your mobile device.
- Real-Time Decisions: Our automated analysis provides funding offers in minutes, not days.
- Accuracy: By using direct data feeds, we eliminate the risk of manual errors, ensuring you get the best rates possible based on your actual performance.
- Read-Only Access: We can only view your data to assess affordability. We cannot move money, authorize payments, or change any of your account settings.
Getting started with Sigma Lending
During your application, we will send you a secure link to our Connection Wizard. To get started, follow these steps:
- Launch the Wizard: Click “Connect” in your invitation link.
- Select Your Institution: Choose your bank or financial provider. We support nearly every major bank, neo-bank, and digital wallet in the UK and Europe.
- Biometric Authorization: You will be redirected to your bank’s secure app or website to authorize the connection—usually with a quick biometric scan.
- Automatic Sync: Our Open Banking provider retrieves the necessary data and provides it to us in a structured format.
- Multi-Account Support: Repeat this for multiple business accounts to give us a full picture of your liquidity.
FAQ
Is Open Banking safe in 2026? Yes. It is significantly safer than traditional methods. It uses the same high-level security as your banking app and is strictly governed by the FCA and UK GDPR.
How does the connection work? Our wizard acts as a secure bridge. You never share your actual bank login or password with Sigma Lending or our Open Banking providers; you only log in directly with your bank.
Do I have to use Open Banking? While it is the fastest way to get a decision, it is not mandatory for the initial inquiry. We still accept electronic statements (PDFs), though this will result in a longer manual review process. However, before we disburse your loan we require you to connect Open Banking.
How is the data used? We use AI-driven analytics to identify trends in your income and expenses. This allows us to offer more flexible, tailored lending limits that grow as your business grows, rather than relying on outdated credit scores.
Who are Plaid and GoCardless? They are both premier financial technology providers that specialize in direct bank-to-bank payments and data solutions. They are trusted partners used by millions of businesses worldwide.
Can you see my password or move my money? No. We receive a “read-only” token. We cannot see your login credentials, and we have zero ability to execute transactions or modify your account.
How do I stop sharing my data? You can manage or cancel your data-sharing permissions at any time within your bank’s online banking portal.