How Danske Bank became an Open Banking front-runner

July 19, 2019 | Louise Basse

As Open Banking is set to be the most significant shift in financial services since online banking, we’re about to see major changes to the way we bank today.

To take advantage of the new reality, Danske Bank teamed up with Aiia to build financial services that fit the demands of tomorrow.

We’ve talked to Danske Bank’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, Jon Schäffer, about how they’ve embraced the new changes.

Let’s hear what he said.

The power of a new friendship

It’s no secret that banks and fintechs are different.

But with a background as an entrepreneur, Danske Bank’s Jon Schäffer sees these differences as one of the important reasons for building bridges between banks and fintechs.

According to him, new partnerships can be a win-win. Whereas smaller fintechs bring innovation and change to the banking sector, major banks can be helpful with resources and compliance expertise.

And so far, Danske Bank has been happy with their decision to partner up with Aiia, Jon Schäffer tells:

“Our original thought was to use Aiia to retrieve data from other banks on behalf of our customers. But as we discovered how fast and reliable Aiia’s bank integrations are, we also started using their API to retrieve data from Danske Bank itself in some cases”, he says.

Limiting the barriers of banking

With access to bank data from all Nordic banks, Danske Bank has created a smart financial overview that enables consumers to see all their finances from different banks in Danske Bank’s online bank.

Soon, they will not only be able to see — but also manage — all their accounts from different banks in Danske Bank’s banking platform, Jon Schäffer explains:

“When you’re able to see and manage all of your finances in one place, you’ll get a better customer experience. With our upcoming payment feature, you’ll be able to transfer money from another bank account inside our mobile bank”.

But it’s not only consumer banking that can look forward to a facelift. In the near future, Danske Bank’s business clients will also benefit from account aggregation, Jon Schäffer tells.

As Aiia covers all banks across the Nordics, Danske Bank is able to build new solutions for their business clients across the Nordics:

“We’re currently working on a project that will enable our business clients to manage all their accounts in the different Nordic countries within Danske Bank’s online platform. That feature solves a huge demand for businesses with accounts in different countries and in different banks”, Jon Schäffer concludes.