We believe in the principles of open banking
We have opened up our web interface (API) and allow retail as well as corporate clients to use third-party mobile and Internet applications for managing their bank accounts, or for financial and accounting transactions with their customers.
Open banking also allows us to offer our own applications and services, such as Friends 24, My Healthy Finances, and George, which give clients an immediate overview of their expenditures, identify room for savings, and soon will also access, through the George application, accounts they have at other banks.
What are third parties and how do they work?
Third parties are providers of Internet and mobile applications.
Third-party applications can be linked with a bank account or, more precisely, to a client’s Internet banking, if the client is interested in using a specific application. But the client must always give the third party his explicit consent, showing that he is aware that the application will gain access to some of his client data in this manner (e.g., account balance, account details, payment history, submission of a domestic payment order...).
What does open banking offer to clients?
New possibilities and flexibility in managing their personal finance.
Popular third-party applications used by retail clients include services offering an instant overview of your expenditures, including visual classification. The client can immediately see in his mobile, or on the Internet, how much he spent over a given period for restaurants, transport, or utilities. Corporate clients, in open banking, increasingly use the bank’s Internet interface for simplifying centralised management of the company, and for obtaining up-to-date information from the bank.
Is open banking safe?
No third party can link its application to a client’s account without the client requesting it first and granting it his explicit consent to access his banking data.
Furthermore, this consent must be reconfirmed by the client every three months. Every third party that wishes to link its application to the client’s account must also hold a Czech National Bank licence for accessing personal banking data. Furthermore, Ceska sporitelna goes beyond the scope of the law and thoroughly checks third parties; and in our Self-Service Portal, clients can check whether a specific application is provided by a third party.
How can I connect to third-party applications?
On the Application page, you can find an up-to-date overview of all the applications that you can link to your accounts at Ceska sporitelna.
When linking a third-party application to your account, the application will direct you to our Internet banking linking page. There, you will enter your log-in information and agree to allow the third-party application to link up with your accounts at Ceska sporitelna. You will not be logging into your Internet banking, but rather verifying that it is you who is linking the third-party application to your accounts. On the Third-Party Management portal, into which you can log from your Internet banking (Servis24, Business24, George), you can manage all the applications that you have linked to your bank account.