Truelayer

[Deleted User]

I want to open a Tandem savings account, but you have to link your current account via a system called Truelayer or something similar. I'm nervous about putting my online banking password etc through this platform. Is it safe?

AmityNeon

bexoxo60 said:

I want to open a Tandem savings account, but you have to link your current account via a system called Truelayer or something similar. I'm nervous about putting my online banking password etc through this platform. Is it safe?

You never have to reveal your credentials to Tandem or TrueLayer. You authenticate as usual through your own bank's platform, and the connection happens behind the scenes after you explicitly approve it. During the process you are informed of exactly what details you choose to share, and only three pieces of information are mandatory for Tandem: name, account number, and sort code. You can optionally choose to share balance and transaction information, but this is unnecessary.

If you are being asked to enter your banking password on a third-party platform, you are being phished.

ColdIron

bexoxo60 said:

Is it safe?

Yes

TrueLayer is one of a number of companies providing Open Banking in the UK

https://truelayer.com/reports/open-banking-guide/what-is-open-banking/

Most banks you have heard of implement open banking (though not necessarily via TrueLayer)

https://truelayer.com/reports/open-banking-guide/open-banking-and-bank-accounts/

I'm nervous about putting my online banking password etc through this platform.

The open banking providers (or the companies using them) do not see your password

In many ways it's safer than faster payments as there is no possibility of mis-keying sort codes or account numbers

Edit: In a surprise move to use modern technologies even HMRC uses open banking. I paid my class 3 NICs with it last month

Bigwheels1111

I have Tandem and Chip accounts.
They both use Truelayer.
Makes deposits & withdrawals almost instantaneous.
Tried on weekdays, weekends and bank holidays.

squirrelsaver

They say there’s no such thing as a daft question- the new to be enhanced app suggests linking a bank account with Truelayer. MSE also suggests checking things like this via the FCA register. The register shows 2 companies: TrueLayer Ltd and Truelayer Ltd (slightly different spelling). One company is still authorised and one is NO LONGER allowed to provide payment services. Can someone kindly advise how we tell the difference - obviously assuming that MSE would have made all necessary checks and would not associate with anything dodgy. Thank you. 

friolento

squirrelsaver said:

They say there’s no such thing as a daft question- the new to be enhanced app suggests linking a bank account with Truelayer. MSE also suggests checking things like this via the FCA register. The register shows 2 companies: TrueLayer Ltd and Truelayer Ltd (slightly different spelling). One company is still authorised and one is NO LONGER allowed to provide payment services. Can someone kindly advise how we tell the difference - obviously assuming that MSE would have made all necessary checks and would not associate with anything dodgy. Thank you. 

I wouldn't worry. If a bank, a savings company, or an organisation such as the HMRC provides you with the option to pull money in from your current account, it is safe to use it. It's the bank, the savings company or the organsiation that you have to be certain of. All of them use a lot of third party technology, whether you can see that it is third party or not.

There are very few companies like Truelayer who provide the Open Banking interface as a service. They will have stringent security built in, and they will only allow bona-fide companies/organisations to use their service.

boingy

I'd never heard of TrueLayer before I tried Open Banking for the first time and it was a bit unsettling to see the iPad using a website I had never heard of as part of the process, especially when the process pauses on that website whilst the browser asks for permission to open the App you started in. It's all legit but it just looks a bit shonky.

prettyandfluffy

I have had an account with Tandem for a while, no issues or problems except that my "main" bank, Virgin money, isn't a participating bank so I use another current account for payments and withdrawals to Tandem.

friolento

boingy said:

I'd never heard of TrueLayer before I tried Open Banking for the first time and it was a bit unsettling to see the iPad using a website I had never heard of as part of the process, especially when the process pauses on that website whilst the browser asks for permission to open the App you started in. It's all legit but it just looks a bit shonky.

The implementations I have seen are all very clunky and not really user friendly. I am sure this could have been done better, and in time probably will be smartened up. It’s all working perfectly though and I love using it for making deposits into savings accounts, and even using it to pay my HMRC bill (which I don’t love but hey hoh). 

squirrelsaver

squirrelsaver said:

They say there’s no such thing as a daft question- the new to be enhanced app suggests linking a bank account with Truelayer. MSE also suggests checking things like this via the FCA register. The register shows 2 companies: TrueLayer Ltd and Truelayer Ltd (slightly different spelling). One company is still authorised and one is NO LONGER allowed to provide payment services. Can someone kindly advise how we tell the difference - obviously assuming that MSE would have made all necessary checks and would not associate with anything dodgy. Thank you. 

Since posting my question, MSE have kindly responded as follows: 
TrueLayer is regulated by the FCA, however it no longer offers any payment services - it currently only deals with open banking connections (it can't move or take any money). The MSE app uses these connections in a couple of our tools (Bill Buster and Regular Payments Detective) and on the personalised MyMSE page to give you better and more relevant tips. 

Question fully answered, thank you 

PennyTracker92

AmityNeon said:

bexoxo60 said:

I want to open a Tandem savings account, but you have to link your current account via a system called Truelayer or something similar. I'm nervous about putting my online banking password etc through this platform. Is it safe?

You never have to reveal your credentials to Tandem or TrueLayer. You authenticate as usual through your own bank's platform, and the connection happens behind the scenes after you explicitly approve it. During the process you are informed of exactly what details you choose to share, and only three pieces of information are mandatory for Tandem: name, account number, and sort code. You can optionally choose to share balance and transaction information, but this is unnecessary.

If you are being asked to enter your banking password on a third-party platform, you are being phished.

The best way to confirm if a provider is authorised is by using the official Open Banking directory. It lists all FCA-regulated companies that are approved to offer these services: (https://www.openbanking.org.uk/customers/regulated-providers/)

From my side, we’ve used Finexer (a provider similar to Truelayer) to access banking data for client work. It’s all consent-based, read-only, and handled through the bank’s own secure login, no passwords are ever shared. We’ve never run into issues. Hope that gives a bit of peace of mind.