Under new PSD2 rules and UK Competition and Markets Authority guidelines, banks will soon be required to allow third parties to access customer data. But firms will need to gain informed consent to use the personal data.

TrueLayer says that the burden of connecting to each bank and of building the same consensual access components in every app will slow down new fintech startups, hindering innovation.

Its answer is an API platform that aggregates and normalizes financial data while also enabling developers to ask for the consent they will need to connect a customer’s bank information and transactions into their applications while maintaining compliance.

"In short, it gives developers everything they need to quickly and securely create disruptive new financial services including payment apps, online lenders, robot advisors, personal finance management and much more," claims the startup.

Last year, TrueLayer closed a $1.3 million funding round led by Connect Ventures. Now the firm is launching in private beta in the UK, with plans to move into other European countries in the coming months.

Francesco Simoneschi, CEO, TrueLayer, says: "We want to enable a new ecosystem of financial services to flourish by bridging the divide between banks and developers. To date, financial innovation has been hindered by the industry’s reliance on legacy architecture and by the banks’ closed-door approach to technology and data.

"Although new regulations like PSD2 in Europe will help create a solution to this challenge, they don’t go far enough to drive real change. What is needed is true, open access, and the consistency that’s required to help developers benefit en masse. This is what TrueLayer brings to the market."