Article

1 Billion Payments and Counting for UK Open Banking

22 September 2026

Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:

Open Banking in the UK has passed 1 billion payments and 100 billion API calls, marking another significant step in the ecosystem’s evolution. This insight explores the data behind the latest growth in payments, API usage and customer adoption, and examines how Open Banking is being used across payments, account information services, identity verification, onboarding and affordability assessments. It also considers what these milestones tell us about the maturity of Open Banking and its growing role in everyday economic activity. 

Author: Anton Joachim, OBL Data Scientist

In September 2025, we shared our thoughts on ecosystem growth as API calls exceeded 2 billion for the first time in a single month. The 12 months since then have marked another significant step forward for the UK’s Open Banking ecosystem. During this period, the ecosystem achieved a series of major milestones:  

  • Monthly payments surpassed 40 million for the first time in May 2026,  
  • Cumulative payments exceeded 1 billion in June 2026,  
  • Cumulative API calls also surpassed 100 billion in June 2026,  
  • Monthly API traffic is approaching 3 billion calls. 

Open Banking continues to support a growing range of use cases across payments, account information services, identity verification, onboarding, affordability assessments, and access to products and services. The past 12 months have seen increased usage across many of these areas as the ecosystem continues to expand and mature. 

A Year of Significant Growth

API Activity Continues to Accelerate

Open Banking activity continued to grow strongly. In the 12 months up to July 2026, total API volumes increased by 30% year on year. While slightly below the exceptional 36% growth recorded during the previous 12‑month period, this performance demonstrates continued expansion from a much larger base and highlights the increasing maturity of the ecosystem. 

Monthly API traffic is now approaching 3 billion calls per month, compared with just over 2 billion a year earlier. Volumes have grown steadily throughout the year, reaching a record 2.94 billion monthly API calls in July 2026 and bringing the ecosystem within touching distance of the 3 billion monthly threshold. The ecosystem also passed a significant long-term milestone in June 2026, with total cumulative API calls surpassing 100 billion since inception. Around 80% of API traffic continues to be generated by Account Information Services (AIS), reflecting the established role of account aggregation and data-sharing services across the ecosystem. 

However, Payment Initiation Services (PIS) have grown more rapidly in recent years, with PIS API call volumes increasing by 44% year on year in the latest period. Growth continues to be driven by strong account information usage, expanding identity and affordability services, and the increasing integration of Open Banking capabilities into customer journeys across financial services and other sectors. 

For readers interested in a more detailed explanation of APIs and their role in Open Banking, we covered this in our previous article: https://www.openbanking.org.uk/insights/2-billion-api-calls-and-15-million-users-a-landmark-month-for-open-banking-in-the-uk/ 

Payments Move Further into the Mainstream

The most significant story of the past year has been the continued rise of Open Banking payments. Annual payment volume increased by 45% year on year for the period August 2025 to July 2026. Although growth rates have moderated from the triple-digit expansion seen during the ecosystem’s early years, adoption continues to accelerate at a remarkable pace. 

The period also saw a couple of major milestones reached: 

  • May 2026: Open Banking payments exceeded 40 million in a single month for the first time. 
  • June 2026: Open Banking surpassed 1 billion cumulative payments since inception. 

This growth has been supported by expanding merchant adoption, improvements in customer experience, increased consumer familiarity, and growing recognition of the efficiency and security benefits of account-to-account payments. 

User Adoption Continues to Expand

Growth in usage has been matched by continued expansion in adoption. User connections increased by 26% year on year to July 2026, building on the strong growth recorded in previous years. While growth has naturally moderated as the ecosystem has matured, the latest figures demonstrate that Open Banking continues to attract new users while deepening engagement among existing users. 

Importantly, adoption is increasingly driven by a broader range of use cases than ever before. Consumers are not only connecting accounts; they are using Open Banking to make payments, verify information, and access services throughout their digital journeys. 

Beyond Banking 

Over the last 12 months, Open Banking has continued to evolve. While payments and account information services remain at its core, organisations are increasingly incorporating Open Banking into wider customer journeys, including onboarding, affordability assessments, and income verification.   

As organisations seek faster, more reliable, and consent-based methods of accessing customer information, Open Banking is playing an increasingly important role in the UK’s wider digital economy. 

What do These Milestones Mean?

Taken together, the developments of the past year tell the story of an ecosystem progressing from growth towards maturity. 

For consumers: more convenient ways to manage money, make payments, and access services. 

For businesses: a larger and more engaged customer base, alongside greater opportunities for innovation. 

For regulators and policymakers: evidence that Open Banking continues to deliver competition, innovation, and consumer value at scale. 

Most importantly, the last 12 months demonstrate that Open Banking is increasingly being measured by real-world impact rather than future potential.  

Open Banking is delivering at scale today and as users and volumes continue to grow, the opportunity now is to turn that momentum into even greater value for consumers, businesses and the wider UK economy. 

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