When open banking first reached gambling, the pitch was mostly about speed. Speed still matters. But the reason operators are looking at Pay by Bank now is different. The pressure has shifted to how well you know your player, where their money comes from, and whether your checks drive good customers away.
What changed in 2026
Three developments are reshaping the payments conversation for British operators.
Financial Risk Assessments are coming. The Gambling Commission gave them the go-ahead in July 2026 but didn't confirm a full timeline, with implementation groups working on next steps over the summer. In stage one, a check is triggered when a player aged over 25 exceeds £5,000 in net deposits in a rolling 24-hour period, or £2,500 for under-25s. The Commission has stressed that these assessments are not affordability checks, won't cap spending, and won't ask players for financial documents. Gambling Commission gives go-ahead to financial risk checks +2
AML expectations have been refreshed. On 30 July 2026, the Commission published an updated money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment for the British gambling industry, replacing its 2023 edition. Operators are expected to review their own risk assessments against it. Harris Hagan
Cards are no longer the whole story. Credit cards have been banned for gambling in Great Britain since 2020, so debit cards and bank payments carry the load. That makes the quality of your bank-based payment experience a direct revenue lever.
The common thread is that operators need stronger evidence about players, collected with less friction. Open banking was built for exactly that.
A better deposit
With Pay by Bank, the player picks their bank at checkout and approves the payment in their own banking app. Strong customer authentication happens with the bank, not on your site. Funds move over Faster Payments, usually in seconds.
For operators, this means:
No card data to store or protect. There's no PAN, no CVV and a smaller PCI footprint.
No card-scheme chargebacks. Bank payments don't carry the chargeback exposure that hits gambling merchants hardest.
Fewer abandoned deposits. Approving a payment in a familiar banking app is quicker than typing 16 digits on a phone.
One principle matters here: Pay by Bank is not a workaround for players who have chosen to block gambling spending. Responsible operators should treat those choices as a signal to respect, not a problem to route around.
Verification without the document chase
Bank statement uploads are slow, easy to doctor and unpopular with players. With the player's consent, Account Information Services let you see account ownership, balances and transaction history straight from the bank.
That helps in the moments where you genuinely need more evidence, such as source-of-funds reviews or enhanced due diligence. It also helps you confirm that the account a player deposits from belongs to the person who registered. The data is structured, current and comes directly from the source. The Commission's direction of travel is clearly towards fewer intrusive document requests, and consented bank data fits that direction far better than a PDF upload.
Closing the loop on payouts
Slow withdrawals are one of the fastest ways to lose a player's trust. When deposits come from a verified bank account, you can pay winnings back to that same account. This closed-loop model is simpler for the player and cleaner from an AML point of view, because money leaves by the route it came in.
For operators processing many withdrawals a day, bulk payment tools let finance teams send payouts in batches rather than one at a time.
What open banking won't do
It's worth being clear about the limits.
It doesn't replace Financial Risk Assessments, which draw on credit reference agency data.
It doesn't remove the need for your own safer gambling monitoring.
Some players will still prefer cards, so Pay by Bank works best alongside them, not as a forced replacement.
Choosing a provider also matters. Gambling is a higher-risk sector, and your payments partner should underwrite you properly and understand your regulatory obligations. That protects you as much as it protects them.
How Fena works with iGaming operators
Fena Labs is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a payment institution (FRN 934835), with permissions for both Payment Initiation and Account Information Services. We've been building Open Banking payments in the UK for six years.
For operators, that means one partner for:
Pay by Bank for instant deposits
Pay by Link and QR codes for assisted and offline journeys
Account Information Services for consented verification and source-of-funds evidence
Bulk Payments for fast, batched withdrawals
If you're reviewing your payments stack ahead of Financial Risk Assessments, or want to reduce deposit drop-off and payout delays, talk to our team about how Pay by Bank could fit your platform.
Article by
Gosia Furmanik
CEO and Founder
Published on
