Danske Bank has become the first of the ‘big four’ NI banks to introduce a feature within its mobile banking app that allows customers to view their account information from another bank.

Danske customers who have a personal current account with Santander can choose to view their Santander balances and transactions when they log on to Danske’s New Mobile Bank-, giving them a clear view of their money without switching between apps. More banks will be added in the coming months.

In the UK, Barclays is the only other bank to offer account aggregation inside its mobile banking app.

The new feature is enabled by industry-approved Open Banking technology. Open Banking lets customers authorise access securely without having to reveal their username or password to anyone other than their bank. It works using application programming interfaces (or APIs), the same technology that lets you book a hotel room using an online travel booking site, or to sign in to online accounts using Facebook.

David Thompson, Senior Manager, Open Banking at Danske Bank, said the feature has been built with customers in mind:

“Many consumers today have more than one bank account. Now they can have a clearer view of their finances on just one screen, making it easier to manage their money and saving them time. This is just the beginning – we are working to add more banks within the next few months and we’ll be taking customer feedback on board as we continue to build the service.

“We know that security is a huge concern for consumers. We will never ask our customers to share their login details for another bank. Customers will only use services enabled by Open Banking if they give permission to us or any other regulated app or website - it’s always the customer’s choice. Open Banking is also regulated and uses rigorously tested software and security systems.

“The idea behind Open Banking is that it will bring more competition and innovation to financial services which, in turn, is hoped will lead to more and better products to help consumers and businesses manage their money.”

To set up the feature, customers simply choose the bank with which they have another account using the ‘View all accounts and Cards’ option and selecting ‘Add Bank’ within Danske’s New Mobile Bank app. They will then be securely redirected to Santander’s online banking page to choose which accounts they would like to connect.

The new feature is available for customers using Danske’s new mobile banking app on an iOS or Android.

For more information on Open Banking, check out their website.