Source: Strands
Strands, a FinTech company specialized in advanced digital banking solutions, is now able to act as Account Information Service Provider (AISP), therefore providing increased PSD2 account aggregation services in Europe and in the post-Brexit’s UK.
This milestone is a direct consequence of Strands’ acquisition by credit bureau and business information company CRIF earlier this year. In 2018, Bologna-based CRIF became the first credit bureau to be registered as AISP in 21 European countries. Even though Strands remains an independent company within the Italian group, the deal allows it to act as a registered AISP.
CRIF holds two AISP licenses: one with CRIF RealTime Ireland, which applies to all the countries under the PSD2 regulation, and one with CRIF RealTime UK, which will be limited to the UK once Brexit is finalized. Both licenses are now available to Strands.
By acting as an AISP-registered company, Strands aims to expand its portfolio of account aggregation solutions and to keep helping banks to make the most of the opportunities that the PSD2 framework offers them.
For example, the white-label FinTech software company will now be able to present banks with advanced data enrichment capabilities and a 360-degree view of their customers’ financial life -including all the products or services they might have in other institutions. This will boost lenders’ cross-selling activity, improve their risk assessment capabilities and provide them with a unique opportunity to become their customers’ primary bank.
“Going to the market as an AISP is a natural step in our growth strategy and it’s yet another example of the potential of our partnership with CRIF. Thanks to our advanced account aggregation capabilities and AI expertise, Strands is in a strong position to help financial institutions all over the world to seize the opportunities generated by Open Banking, take their customers relations to the next level and, ultimately, increase their sales and revenue,” said Strands’ CEO Erik Brieva.
An AISP is a payment institution which, under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), can access payment accounts of different banks (and other payment service providers), under the consent of the account holder. This way, it can retrieve payment data and aggregate them in order to offer value-added services to the account holder, such as a creditworthiness evaluation, financial management tools and customized offer.