Improved Bank Connection User Flow for PSD2/Open Banking ecosystem

During the process of integrating the banks across EU, Salt Edge has redesigned its Bank Connect interfaces to ensure the most intuitive, simple, and informative customer journey that can be in an Open Banking environment.

Salt Edge outnumbers other data aggregators in regards to banks connected across the world. While continuously scaling up the number of connections, it is essential for the company to guarantee that the institutions we serve deliver an experience that matches or betters their end-customers’ expectations. Bank Connect page is the Salt Edge widget integrated by a payment service provider – be it a financial application, bank, lender, big merchant, or eWallet – to allow end-customers to select and securely connect their payment accounts for account information and payment initiation purposes. To support and achieve the goal of creating customer trust, two key pillars were kept in mind when redesigning the bank connection user flow:       – ensuring customers’ informed decision-making based on accurate messages;       – simple and easy navigation. As it was mentioned in a McKinsey article, “There is a fine line to walk: educating and empowering consumers without confusing, scaring, or boring them.” Our UI/UX team has employed a deeply customer-centric approach when making product design decisions. They have followed the recommendations issued by Open Banking Customer Experience Guidelines and have introduced a set of useful elements in the customer journey:

• Granular consent that are fully informative and clear, with explicit opt in, presenting the primary purpose for which the data is shared, and time-bound permission – so that consumers feel in control all along the process. The consent text/flow can be of several types, depending on the use case –  lender, PFM, PISP, etc.;
• Clear redirect flow: well-informed transition from Salt Edge environment to bank’s interface during the redirect process so that end-customers feel confident in the steps they take;
• Multiple languages: end-customers can choose from 17 available languages so they fully understand every action they make. Also, additional languages will be added soon;
• Display of Salt Edge security certificates (ISO 20071 and PCI DSS) to build and maintain customers’ trust. By listing the security certifications and a short text about what Salt Edge does, end-customers develop a high level of confidence knowing their data is secure.

Besides optimizing the user journey, we have also implemented technical improvements. Updated Bank Connect page better handles the PSD2/Open Banking redirect flows for AISP and PISP bank channels to support native browsers and mobile apps. Also, the improved UI better supports custom templates and is responsive to various screen sizes (smartphones, tablets, etc.). Open banking can offer an organic and thorough experience only if it wins the trust of end-consumers to open up access to their financial data. Creating a secure, user-friendly, and transparent environment where consumers feel in control of their actions would empower them to use with confidence the new open banking services. About Salt Edge Salt Edge is a global fintech company offering a range of cutting-edge solutions to financial institutions, banks, finapps, and other fintech companies. Among its most popular services are financial data aggregation API, open banking and PSD2 solutions, white label retail banking, and data enrichment. ISO 27001 certified, the company employs the highest international security measures to ensure stable and reliable interoperability channels between financial institutions and their users. Connected to 3100+ financial institutions in 61 countries, Salt Edge brings comprehensive financial data at the fingertips of over 250,000 end-users monthly. More information: www.saltedge.com Phone number: +1-437-886-3969 E-mail: press@saltedge.com