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Apple has announced that it will soft launch a new feature for its iPhone Wallet app with an integration into the UK’s Open Banking API.
Open Banking integration to Wallet app in UK
The Wallet app will now be able to show its user’s current account balance from their financial institutions, as well as a history of deposits and payments.
The balances will also be shown inline when buying something with Apple Pay, helping users be more financially aware about whether they can responsibly afford the purchase.
According to Apple, the integration is rolling out as the first part of the upcoming iOS 17.1 developer beta.
It will be available to a subset of Wallet app users in the UK, who have an Apple Pay card associated with a supporting bank.
Supporting banks in this initial rollout include Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, Monzo and Starling.
Users can securely authorise the integration through the Wallet app, using a familiar OAuth flow in which the Wallet will redirect the user to the bank’s app or website to authenticate the connection.
As you might expect, Apple’s usual privacy standards apply. Any data retrieved from this API is kept solely on the user’s device, and not stored on Apple’s servers.
It is interesting to note that very often UK Apple users bemoan US-only features, in this rare instance we see the reverse in play due to the far more advanced onset and infrastructure in the UK’s Open Banking initiatives.
The path to getting a feature like this in other regions, like the US, is much less clear.
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