Bank reconciliation with open banking (PSD2): what it does
Bank reconciliation with open banking means your bookkeeping software reads transactions from your bank through a read-only PSD2 connection you approve, then matches each payment to an issued invoice, a supplier invoice or a receipt. Clear matches are paired automatically, unclear ones wait for you. You re-confirm access at least every 180 days, and the software cannot move money.
What PSD2 open banking is
The second Payment Services Directive, Directive (EU) 2015/2366, requires banks to give licensed third parties access to a customer's payment account with the customer's explicit consent. There are two kinds of access:
- Account information (AIS). Read-only: balances and transaction history.
- Payment initiation (PIS). Starting a payment from the account.
Bookkeeping uses the first kind. You set the connection up with your bank's own authentication (an app confirmation or a one-time code) and can revoke it at any time. Most software connects through a licensed provider that maintains interfaces to many banks across the EU. Transactions then arrive automatically with date, amount, counterparty, reference and, where the bank provides it, the counterparty's IBAN. More in the open banking glossary entry.
How matching works
📋What happens to each transaction
- Issued invoices – an incoming payment with the invoice number in the reference, or the exact amount from a known customer, marks the invoice paid.
- Supplier invoices and receipts – an outgoing payment to a known supplier for the amount of a posted document clears the payable.
- Recurring payments – rent, subscriptions and loan instalments follow patterns; once categorised, they are handled the same way next time.
- Fees and interest – bank charges are recognised from the bank's descriptions.
- The rest – partial matches, such as one payment for two invoices or an amount reduced by a fee, are proposed for confirmation, never booked silently.
Matching combines amount, reference text, counterparty name, IBAN and date. Since 9 October 2025 euro-area banks must also check the payee's name against the IBAN before a transfer, under the Instant Payments Regulation (EU) 2024/886. That reduces misdirected payments, but it does not fill in a missing invoice reference.
Practical example
A design studio in Berlin issues about 40 invoices a month. A client pays EUR 2,380 (EUR 2,000 plus 19 % VAT) with the invoice number in the reference: matched and marked paid the same day. Another client pays EUR 4,760 for two invoices with no reference; the studio sees a proposal to split it across both and confirms with one click. A EUR 59.90 card payment without a receipt triggers a request for the missing document.
The benefits that are real
- Accurate payment status. Overdue lists are right because invoices are cleared the day money arrives.
- No statement imports. CSV downloads and format mapping disappear.
- Fewer missing documents. A card payment without a receipt still shows up, and the software asks for the document.
- One cash view. Balances from several banks or currencies in one place.
The limits that are also real
Consent expires. The rules on strong customer authentication, as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2360, require you to re-confirm account access at least every 180 days. Until you do, new transactions stop. That is a security feature, but bank sync is never fully set and forget.
Coverage is uneven. Large retail banks in each country are well covered; some business platforms and smaller banks have incomplete or intermittently unavailable interfaces. Check that your bank is supported before relying on sync.
Data fields differ. Some banks send full references and IBANs, others truncate or omit them. A payment with no reference and a rounded amount may never match automatically.
History is limited. Banks expose a limited window of past transactions. Older history has to be imported, for example from a CAMT.053 or CSV statement.
It does not replace documents. A bank line proves money moved, not what was bought or whether VAT is deductible. The invoice or receipt remains the accounting document.
Gateway settlements. Card acquirers, marketplaces and payment gateways pay out batches net of fees. Matching those to individual sales needs the gateway's own report.
📊Manual statement work versus open banking
| Task | Manual statements | PSD2 connection |
|---|---|---|
| Getting transactions | Download and import each period | Arrive automatically |
| Matching | By hand, line by line | Automatic where signals agree |
| Payment status | Known after the next import | Known the same day |
| Effort left | Whole statement | Short queue of exceptions |
| Re-authorisation | Not applicable | At least every 180 days |
Security and control
A read-only connection cannot move money. You control it: it is created with your bank's authentication and can be revoked in the bank's app or in the software. Fair questions for any provider are which licensed provider they connect through, where transaction data is stored and whether they ever ask for payment initiation access.
What a good workflow looks like
- Connect business accounts once and note when re-authorisation is due.
- Let clear matches post automatically and review the queue daily or weekly.
- Request missing documents through the same channel you use for receipts.
- Set rules for recurring counterparties so they leave the queue.
- Reconcile the closing balance at each period end; with good matching that check is quick.
PSD2 will be replaced: in November 2025 the Council and the Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a Payment Services Regulation and PSD3. Until those rules apply, the PSD2 framework described here stays in place.
How Kontevia fits
Kontevia is in early access. It connects to banks through PSD2 open banking via licensed providers, read-only and revocable, and never stores your banking credentials. Payments are matched to issued and received invoices by reference, amount and counterparty; unmatched movements wait in a queue. If a bank is not connected, a CAMT.053 or CSV statement can be uploaded. From selected invoices Kontevia can prepare a SEPA batch file (pain.001) for your online banking; nothing is paid without you. See bank reconciliation in Kontevia and the supported banks.
Official sources
- Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (PSD2) on EUR-Lex
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2360 on strong customer authentication
- Regulation (EU) 2024/886 on instant payments
This article is general information and does not replace advice from a tax adviser or your bank. Information valid as of 10 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
- Can bookkeeping software move money from my account through PSD2?
- Not with an account information connection. That access is read-only: balances and transactions, nothing else. Starting payments would need a separate payment initiation consent, which a bookkeeping tool does not need for reconciliation.
- Why does my bank connection expire?
- Under the EU rules on strong customer authentication, account access must be re-confirmed by you at least every 180 days. When it lapses, new transactions stop arriving until you re-authorise; data already imported is kept.
- Does every EU bank support open banking?
- Every bank in the EU that offers online payment accounts must provide a PSD2 access interface, but quality varies. Large retail banks are usually well covered; some smaller or specialised banks deliver incomplete data or have outages.
- What replaces PSD2?
- In November 2025 the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a Payment Services Regulation and a third Payment Services Directive (PSD3) that will replace PSD2. Until the new rules apply, PSD2 remains the framework.
Topics:PSD2open bankingbank reconciliationbankspayment matchingSEPA
Kontevia is in early access. Country-specific behaviour described here reflects the rules of each state, not a promise that every feature is live in your country today.
Bookkeeping that keeps up with EU rules
Send a receipt by chat or e-mail, and Kontevia reads it, posts it under the rules of your country and prepares VAT and the export for your accountant. Early access is open.
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