A SCOTTISH firm has become the first company in the UK to secure Open Banking registration from the Financial Conduct Authority.

FreeAgent, the award-winning innovative cloud accounting software provider based in Edinburgh, announced yesterday that it has received the new credentials.

This will enable FreeAgent to provide Open Banking services to freelancers, contractors, micro-business owners and their accountants.

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Launched in 2007 by former RAF fighter pilot Ed Molyneux, the company is now registered as an official Account Information Services Provider (AISP) under the terms of the European Union’s Revised Payment Services Directive.

The directive, otherwise known as PSD2, is the new EU-wide legislation designed to open up the banking and payments industry.

FreeAgent is among the first tranche of companies to achieve AISP status in the UK and will now be able to officially embark on its Open Banking strategy.

The accreditation will allow FreeAgent to provide deeper banking integrations with its award-winning software, and enable users to more readily access their banking information in a secure and compliant way.

FreeAgent provides award-winning cloud accounting software specifically designed to meet the needs of contractors, freelancers, micro-businesses and the accountants they work with.

More than 60,000 customers currently use the system to manage and maintain their business accounts, track time, log expenses, create and send invoices, forecast their tax bills and file their Self Assessment and VAT returns directly to HMRC.

FreeAgent won the Best SME Accounts/Bookkeeping category at the 2017 AccountingWEB Software Excellence Awards and is a former winner at the British Accountancy Awards.

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The company is a Freelancer and Contractor Services Association partner and has been listed twice on the Deloitte Fast 50, as well as being named “one to watch” in the Tech Track 100.

In March this year, FreeAgent was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group for a reported £53 million. It is now run as an operationally independent entity within RBS.

Ross McEwan, RBS chief exeutive, said at the time: “We believe that a technology-enabled solution for our business banking customers will make it easier for our customers to build their businesses safely and securely.”

Kevin McCallum, the Scot who is the chief commercial officer at FreeAgent, said: “We’re delighted to have achieved our FCA registration as an Account Information Services Provider. The FCA rightly sets the quality bar fairly high for any business to become an AISP.

“We have always taken our security and data responsibilities very seriously, and our AISP status confirms that our internal systems and processes meet the highest standards. The integrated and seamless flow of information between banks, accountants and business owners is an integral part of the FreeAgent experience in the future.

“We believe that Open Banking is going to fundamentally change the way that businesses, accountants, software providers and banks share data – giving people a more secure, transparent understanding of their finances than ever before. It will allow us to build new services and customer-focused offerings that would simply not have been possible previously.”