Edinburgh fintech iDelta looks globally after launching app to help traditional banks

Edinburgh-based iDelta has launched an Open Banking Insights app to help bricks-and-mortar banks combat the rise of online challengers such as Revolut and Monzo.

Consultant James Campbell (left) and director Stuart Robertson. Picture: Chris Watt Photography.

It said the move is in response to new regulations regarding Open Banking, which helps consumers access their accounts using third-party products, making it easier to view and manage their finances across multiple accounts in one place.

iDelta director Stuart Robertson, who designed the app, said: “Open Banking is intended to increase competition in the marketplace, and in a competitive environment you get innovation. While challenger banks and other financial third parties are revolutionising the marketplace, there is still huge opportunity here for the incumbent banks to drive forward innovation, using insights gleaned from existing customer data to develop customer-focused products”.

It also noted widespread bank branch closures in the UK, while digital lender Revolut recently raised $500 million (£389m) in a funding round.

Robertson said: “Our app gives the market a low-cost, highly efficient and extensible way of providing a business with a central view of their customer banking channel. Banks that choose to fully use the data they are generating, with the app we have built, will position themselves at the forefront of this new channel of business.

“While the UK is pioneering Open Banking, we are seeing a shift change in banking worldwide, with USA, Canada, Hong Kong and Australia and others adopting their own approaches to its implementation, so we see lots of potential for the app globally.”