Open banking is the regulatory framework that lets licensed third parties access bank accounts on a customer’s behalf, with explicit consent and through standardised APIs. In the UK and EU it is driven by PSD2 and supports two main flows: account information (AIS) and payment initiation (PIS). Done well, it offers bank-to-bank payment, balance and transaction insight, and account verification.
Travel payments glossary
Open banking
Regulated APIs that let licensed third parties access bank accounts on a customer’s behalf.
Why it matters in travel
Open banking is increasingly used in travel for high-value deposits and balances where card fees would be material, for verifying customer bank details before refunds, and for matching incoming bank transfers automatically. It also gives travel businesses an alternative payment rail when card acceptance becomes constrained.
The fee economics are what get travel finance teams interested in open banking, but the operational benefits are what keep them. A bank-to-bank payment lands without a card chargeback rail, with clean reference data and at near-real-time speed — exactly what a tour operator needs when a balance is due against a non-refundable supplier commitment. The same rail also makes refunds cleaner because the bank details are already verified.
Open banking will not replace cards in travel, but it does change the mix in a way that compounds. Customers paying high-value bookings increasingly prefer it once they have used it, AISP-based account verification removes a step from refund handling, and the absence of scheme fees on every transaction shows up as a tangible margin lift across a season.
How felloh helps
felloh keeps open-banking payments and account-information signals tied to the booking ledger so finance teams get the benefit of the lower fees without losing reconciliation visibility.
Where this shows up in compliance and protection.
Open banking touches more than one workflow at felloh. Start with the pages most travel teams reach for next.
- Compliance & Reporting
Prepare ATOL, APC, trust and audit evidence from live booking data — without a separate reporting layer.
Explore - Simplify ATOL & Trustee Reporting
Trust, escrow and protected-funds evidence drawn from the same record as the underlying payment.
Explore - Financial Protection Data
Authentication, settlement and protection evidence held against the booking for audit and regulator queries.
Explore
More on compliance and protection.
Real-world context from the felloh team and customers, written for travel finance and operations.
-
InsightsChanges to ATOL’s APC: what could it mean to your travel business
ABTA's latest update on ATOL reform — where the direction of travel is heading, and what APC Levy changes could mean for travel businesses.
Read article -
InsightsMaking ATOL renewals less painful: practical insights from TTC and felloh
Why ATOL renewals are getting harder — and how better payment visibility and connected data help travel businesses prepare with confidence.
Read article
Connect the dots.
See how payments, settlement, refunds and reporting evidence connect around every booking.