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Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by elric on Friday November 06, 2026 @07:11AM (#50391440)
> By now, if a major regulator like EU steps in, cracks the whip, and forces banks to provide access through a common API standard to any third party banking app? I'd welcome the change.

"Open banking" is kind of a thing with PSD2/PSD3, but in name only. In reality, it's impossible to build anything useful. Interacting with any of the "open" APIs requires approval from a national bank (or similar institution), which means there are many hoops to jump through.

There is only one bank I know of that offers an API for end users ("bunq" IIRC). Every other god damned bank insists on being user hostile.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by embedding-shape on Friday November 06, 2026 @08:35AM (#50392119)
> "Open banking" is kind of a thing with PSD2/PSD3, but in name only. In reality, it's impossible to build anything useful

You mean the step from sandbox to production application, or you're not even getting access to the sandbox itself? I managed to get sandbox access with ease via two separate banks (both Spanish though), with no problems, think it took them one (working) day or something to review my "application". I never tried to get anything into the production environments though, but makes sense they'd be a bit tighter on that tbh.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by elric on Friday November 06, 2026 @11:12AM (#50394266)
I should have added that it's impossible for individuals, not for fintech providers.
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by embedding-shape on Friday November 06, 2026 @11:46AM (#50394783)
I guess I should have clarified too, I'm an individual, not a fintech provider.
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by alecsm on Friday November 06, 2026 @09:28AM (#50392700)
Because these API are not meant to be public for the end user to use.

Access to that kind of data requires regulation, a lot of it and that's why Third Party Providers exist. There are a lot of them in Europe and they're not expensive.

I actually didn't expect to find anything about bunq around here but I have to say they're the worst bank I've worked with. When we started working with them, their API were broken and the devs had no idea why. It seems to have improved recently but it's definitely not a bank to praise for their API.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by Semaphor on Friday November 06, 2026 @11:08AM (#50394186)
Bunq… It’s great that they have an API, but to use it, I had to clone their SDK, and manually fix everything that was broken, add some workarounds, and now it works. Documentation was all from the announcement in 2016, and some undocumented things changed since. Still, better than no API, which is what everyone else seems to offer.

And now we have a paypal-like shopping experience via SEPA Instant Payments, all our PayPal hating customers are happy ;)

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by elric on Friday November 06, 2026 @11:15AM (#50394304)
> Because these API are not meant to be public for the end user to use.

I know, that's my point. It's a stupid decision.

> Access to that kind of data requires regulation

It's my data. I want to access it how I see fit.

> There are a lot of them in Europe and they're not expensive.

I already have a bank and I already pay them. I don't want to pay anyone else to be able to use my bank account in a way that suits me. Sadly, there aren't many good options.

Someone mentioned Wise, and they do seem pretty interesting. But it makes no sense why common high strees banks refuse to cater to power users, or even to users who aren't using mainstream devices.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by esseph on Friday November 06, 2026 @11:40AM (#50394702)
[delayed]
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by rockskon on Friday November 06, 2026 @12:12PM (#50395184)
Reputational and security liability is highly debatable. Legal is highly jurisdiction dependant.

They often act as marketing and can find and report security vulnerabilities rather than the criminal element doing so first.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by esseph on Friday November 06, 2026 @12:22PM (#50395342)
[delayed]
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by rockskon on Friday November 06, 2026 @03:59PM (#50398440)
Is this thread not a conversation about GrapheneOS and those that use it? I'm not sure what relevance AI has here.
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by esseph on Friday November 06, 2026 @04:17PM (#50398657)
[delayed]
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by rockskon on Friday November 06, 2026 @07:03PM (#50400234)
It is hardly a reasonable comparison in a thread about a bank ASN blocking non-Google Android to equivocate that to blocking consumers using AI agents from making transactions with a user's banking info.
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by esseph on Friday November 06, 2026 @10:21PM (#50401316)
[delayed]
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by jcsager on Friday November 06, 2026 @11:45AM (#50394774)
>It's my data. I want to access it how I see fit

It ain't your data, it's the bank's data about you. Banks are shitty about access, APIs because they are perpetually in CYA mode from KYC/AML rules from the US (also on most foreign banks) and GDPR and cousins in Europe.

I was actually surprised how many bank apps will work under GrapheneOS even if only partially.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by gergely on Friday November 06, 2026 @09:35AM (#50392786)
In Hungary you don't get documentation for these APIs only in pdfs via email, and if you get it the APIs are not stable, constantly breaking. I was always dreaming about creating an automated testing suite and report all of the issues automatically to the national bank, which is the supervisor of all commercial banks in HU, in a hope to punish them.
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by xp84 on Friday November 06, 2026 @11:34AM (#50394623)
You guys get APIs??

Seriously, count your blessings man. In America we only get Plaid, which only works right or reliably for big banks (which are also the worst ones), and it isn’t an API for humans, just a paid SaaS product that a company who wants to offer integration with banks has to pay (i assume a lot) for.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by qmarchi on Friday November 06, 2026 @08:02PM (#50400584)
Two immediate options exist: - Crew (unofficial, but blessed, SDK) - Mercury (official)

Neither are technically a bank, but provide banking services. Mercury is more focused on big earners, and Crew is focused more on budgeting. Both have pretty extensive API surfaces.

(Disclaimer: Affiliate for Crew)

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by ThePowerOfFuet on Friday November 06, 2026 @04:23PM (#50398718)
>I was always dreaming about creating an automated testing suite and report all of the issues automatically to the national bank, which is the supervisor of all commercial banks in HU, in a hope to punish them.

Vágj bele!!

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by Xeago on Friday November 06, 2026 @10:05AM (#50393203)
Whilst not PSD2/PSD3, I've been super happy with Wise; an excellent API, good quality docs. A _proper_ test environment that you can drive using hooks they expose. Nothing but praise for them, including their support, which has helped me around the clock even on weird questions such as why my custom integration fails to send a transaction (mismatched currency between recipient and transfer in my code).
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by kevin_thibedeau on Friday November 06, 2026 @10:35AM (#50393609)
Not going to be a good day when Wise or Plaid are breached and accounts start being drained. Adding middlemen is not a solution to poor banking services.
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by ThePowerOfFuet on Friday November 06, 2026 @11:58AM (#50394965)
Wise is not a bank, is not licensed as a bank, and is thus not insured like a bank is.

Balances are held in Wise at your own risk.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by qmarchi on Friday November 06, 2026 @07:58PM (#50400567)
Depends on the country. My money is stored in a bank, licensed as a bank, and insured like a bank (because it's a bank).

Wise is really just a glorified interface on the account. And no, it's not a shared account. Those don't really exist in Japan.

Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by doetoe on Saturday November 07, 2026 @09:14PM (#50409895)
For contactless pay with Wise you need Google wallet, which requires Google play integrity
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by bloppe on Friday November 06, 2026 @12:45PM (#50395646)
Remember Bitcoin?
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by e-topy on Friday November 06, 2026 @03:29PM (#50398024)
I've actually been very successful in building a Home Assistant integration for my bank, built on PSD2. Approval took 4 days, after that I had production access. It's not that bad. Obviously you get Design By Committee problems, but better than no API.
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by mmfl on Friday November 06, 2026 @03:43PM (#50398224)
In the UK, you do require an FCA registration to access Open Banking APIs, but I built an open-source client (in production) that handles a lot of the API integration work: https://github.com/finlabsuk/open-banking-connector
Re:Dutch 'idealist' bank ASN blocks non-Google Android, incl... by lmz on Saturday November 07, 2026 @07:17AM (#50403894)
It's Open for other (similarly regulated) institutions, not open for individual persons.