To help clarify things further, some providers may say they ‘support’ Open Banking but they don’t actually have an Open Banking API in place.
They have instead opted for a Modified Customer Interface (MCI). The MCI option is not an Open Banking API (which provides a separate read-only feed of the transaction/balance data to the customer’s main online banking access).
The MCI is instead a variation of a credentials sharing/screen-scraping connection that accesses specifically authorised/selected accounts via the customer’s main online banking login.
While both processes are permitted by the PSD2 regulations, the vast majority of banks are opting for Open Banking APIs and only a small handful of providers are going for the MCI option.
Why doesn't Money Dashboard support this type of connection method?
As the majority of Money Dashboard resources have had to be focused on the massive task of enabling Open Banking APIs, we are unable to support the MCI connections. The problem with us doing screen scraping against their MCI is that Money Dashboard would have to store user login details, something the company isn’t set up to do.
When using Money Dashboard, your bank details are not stored anywhere on our end and this is possible with the Open Bank API - we establish the link between you and your bank and your login details are keyed in at your bank's site to enable this permission.
Which providers are using the Modified Customer Interface connection?
These are the providers Money Dashboard is aware of having an MCI API currently.
2. Smile
3. John Lewis Finance
4. Metro Bank