Open banking connects to bank accounts. BYOC connects to cards. They solve different problems — and they work best together.
Open banking — PSD2 in Europe, and providers like Plaid, TrueLayer, and Tink — enables platforms to access bank account data with the user's consent. It's excellent for account verification, balance checks, and transaction history.
For card-level transaction data, open banking has structural limitations: data arrives after bank settlement (24–48 hours), merchant descriptions are bank-formatted and inconsistent, coverage varies significantly by country and bank, and there's no real-time visibility into card transactions.
BYOC flips the model: instead of connecting to a bank account, the cardholder enrolls their specific card. Transaction data comes directly from the card network at authorization — real-time, structured, and normalized.
The enrollment is a one-time process with no re-authentication. The connection is persistent — it doesn't break when passwords change or banks update their APIs. Each enrolled card delivers data independently, so you get per-card granularity on corporate accounts.
| Open Banking | BYOC (Card Network) | |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | Bank APIs (Plaid, TrueLayer, Tink) | Card networks (Visa, Mastercard) via Astrada |
| Latency | 24–48 hours after bank settlement | Real-time — at authorization |
| Merchant data | Bank-formatted descriptor string, inconsistent across providers | Structured: merchant name, MCC, terminal ID, geolocation |
| Enrollment | Connect bank account — re-auth required when credentials change | Enroll specific card — one-time, persistent |
| Connection stability | Fragile — breaks on password resets, MFA changes, bank API updates | Persistent — no re-authentication, no bank dependency |
| Coverage | Varies by country and bank — strongest in EU (PSD2) | US, Canada, UK, Europe — any issuer, expanding |
| Regulatory framework | PSD2 (EU), limited mandates elsewhere | Card network agreements — works independently of banking regulation |
| Best for | Account balances, transaction history, bank verification | Real-time card spend visibility, policy enforcement, reconciliation |
Open banking and BYOC solve different problems. The strongest platforms use both — open banking for account-level data, BYOC for real-time card data.
Use open banking for account verification and balance checks where PSD2 coverage is strong. Add BYOC for real-time card data from any enrolled card — covering spend that's invisible through bank connections alone.
Travelers book on personal cards outside your platform. Open banking might show the charge 24–48 hours later. BYOC shows it the moment the card is swiped — with merchant details that identify it as a hotel, airline, or ground transport.
Zero-day close requires zero-day data. Open banking gives you transaction history for reconciliation. BYOC gives you real-time card data the moment it happens — so your reconciliation engine doesn't wait 24 hours to start.
Open banking for account data. BYOC for real-time card data. Use both for the complete picture.