Is Open Banking safe? How it works
Co-founder of Penge · Published 16 July 2026 · 5 min read
More and more apps can connect to your bank. But is it safe to give an app access to your bank account? Short answer: yes, when it is built on Open Banking. Here is why.
Key takeaways
- Open Banking is a regulated way to let an app read your bank balances and transactions automatically, with no manual entry.
- It is built on the EU directive PSD2, and only licensed, supervised companies are allowed to connect.
- You log in with your bank itself, for example BankID, so the app never sees your password.
- Access is read-only: an app can read data but cannot move money or pay bills, and you can revoke it anytime.
- Penge fetches bank data through GoCardless, a licensed provider, and never stores your bank credentials.
What is Open Banking?
Open Banking is a safe, regulated way to let an app read information from your bank accounts. You connect the app to your bank instead of typing transactions in by hand, and it fetches your balances and transactions automatically. You stay in control of which accounts it can see.
Open Banking is a safe, regulated way to let an app pull information from your bank accounts. Instead of typing in your transactions manually, you connect the app to your bank, and it fetches your balances and transactions automatically. You decide which accounts it can see.
It is regulated by law
Open Banking is built on the EU directive PSD2, which also applies across the EEA. Banks are required to offer secure interfaces, and only licensed, supervised companies are allowed to connect. So it is not a shortcut around the bank, but a solution the bank itself is part of.
You log in with your bank, not in the app
When you connect an account, you are sent to your bank's own login, for example with BankID. The app never sees your password or BankID. It only gets time-limited permission to read the data you approve.
Read-only access, and you can revoke it
- The app can read balances and transactions, but cannot move money or pay bills.
- Access is time-limited (usually 90 days) and has to be renewed.
- You can revoke access at any time, both in the app and with your bank.
How Penge uses Open Banking
Penge fetches bank data through GoCardless, a licensed account information service provider. We never store your bank credentials, and the connection is read-only. If your bank does not support Open Banking, you can upload account statements yourself instead.
Not sure whether your bank supports Open Banking? See which banks are supported
Get a full overview with Penge
Connect your bank and let the app categorize and budget automatically.
Frequently asked questions
- Can Penge move my money?
- No. Open Banking only gives read access to balances and transactions. No app can move money or pay bills through this connection.
- Can Penge see my password?
- No. You log in with your bank yourself, for example with BankID, and the app never sees your password or BankID.
- How do I stop access?
- You can disconnect an account in the app at any time, or revoke consent directly with your bank. Access also expires automatically after a period.