Xero, the global small business platform, today announced it is partnering with Flinks, a key player focused on open banking, to give small businesses in Canada and the United States secure access to more than 20 direct bank connections and high quality transaction data.

The increased access for Xero customers to North American financial institutions can help small businesses and advisors “to recoup time previously spent on manual data entry and reconciliation.”

With the largest network of financial institution partners with live direct bank API connections in North America, Flinks will “provide new and secure high quality bank feeds for customers in the US and Canada.”

For customers this will include, but “not limited to, direct bank feeds with the National Bank of Canada and EQ Bank, as well as US based banks.”

Faye Pang, Country Manager, Canada at Xero, said:

“Bank reconciliation is essential for every small business, bookkeeper and accountant, but manually entering transaction data takes precious time away from running the business and introduces room for error. Our partnership with a Canadian grown success story, Flinks, is just one more way we are expanding our bank feeds coverage to help provide Canadian small businesses with better visibility of their money coming in and going out.”

Ben Richmond, Country Manager, United States at Xero, said:

“Seamlessly getting data into the Xero platform is very important for small business success. Xero is committed to continually improving US and Canadian bank feeds in response to customer feedback, and tackling the broader industry challenge of getting reliable banking data into accounting platforms in North America.”

Xero and Flinks understand “the benefits of open banking and are dedicated to the implementation of solutions that make doing business easier, making the partnership seamless from both a technical and cultural perspective. Both businesses continue to champion the benefits and role open banking will continue to play in guiding the responsible use of data and providing improved outcomes for small businesses — including reliable bank feeds.”

Frédérick Lavoie, Co-founder & COO, Flinks, said:

“We strongly believe the benefits open banking will provide for consumers and businesses. This partnership is proof of that. Along with our commitment to expanding our direct bank network, we are excited to work with Xero to empower businesses to take their financial operations to the next level.”