> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flinks.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Open Banking API

> Learn about Flinks Open Banking API, the Open Banking solution for secure, consent-based financial data sharing.

The Flinks Open Banking API is a solution that enables secure, consent-based financial data sharing between financial institutions and third-party applications. It uses industry standards like **Financial Data Exchange (FDX)** to ensure consistent, high-quality data delivery.

## What is Open Banking?

Open Banking is a framework that allows consumers to securely share their financial data with third-party service providers. Instead of screen-scraping or credential-based access, Open Banking uses standardized APIs and explicit user consent to share data directly from the financial institution.

## How Flinks Open Banking API works

At a high level, the Open Banking API flow works as follows:

1. **Your application** initiates an authorization request with a Data Provider (financial institution)
2. **The user** is redirected to their financial institution's consent page
3. **The user** reviews and approves the data-sharing request
4. **The financial institution** issues an authorization code
5. **Your application** exchanges the code for an access token
6. **Your application** uses the access token to retrieve financial data through FDX-compliant endpoints

This is an **OAuth-based consent flow**: the user's credentials are never shared with your application. They authenticate directly with their financial institution.

## Key concepts

### Roles

| Role | Description |
| :- | :- |
| **Data Provider** | A financial institution (bank, credit union) that holds the customer's financial data and provides it through APIs |
| **Data Recipient** | An organization that receives financial data from Data Providers to deliver services to the customer |
| **Partner** | A Data Recipient that is fully integrated into the Flinks Open Banking API ecosystem |

### FDX-compliant output

Flinks Open Banking API returns data in **FDX (Financial Data Exchange)** format, an industry-standard JSON structure for financial data. This includes:

* Account details (type, balance, account number)
* Transaction history
* Customer information (name, contact details)
* Payment network information

Using a standard format means you can integrate with multiple Data Providers without custom parsing for each one.

## When to use Open Banking API vs Connect

| Criteria | Open Banking API | Connect (Screen-based) |
| :- | :- | :- |
| **Data access method** | Direct API from financial institution | Credential-based extraction |
| **User consent** | OAuth consent at the financial institution | User enters credentials in Flinks Connect |
| **Credential handling** | Credentials never leave the bank | Credentials securely stored by Flinks |
| **Institution coverage** | Growing: depends on Data Provider availability | Broad: supports hundreds of institutions |
| **Data freshness** | Real-time via API | Near real-time with nightly refresh |
| **Best for** | Institutions that support Open Banking APIs | Broad institution coverage, legacy banks |

<Note>
  Open Banking API and Connect can be used together. Use Open Banking API for institutions that support Open Banking, and fall back to Connect for institutions that don't yet have Open Banking APIs.
</Note>

## Getting started

1. **Receive client credentials** from Flinks during onboarding (`client_id` and `client_secret`)
2. **Register with Data Providers** whose customers you want to serve
3. **Implement the OAuth authorization flow** to obtain user consent
4. **Call FDX endpoints** to retrieve financial data

For step-by-step instructions, see the [Open Banking API Getting Started](/api/open-banking/getting-started) guide.

## Related resources

* [Open Banking API Reference](/api/open-banking/endpoints)
* [FDX Endpoints](/api/open-banking/endpoints/fdx/index)
* [Authorization Endpoints](/api/open-banking/endpoints/authorize/index)