SimpleFIN
An open protocol for read-only bank data, through a server you choose.
SimpleFIN is an open protocol for sharing read-only bank data with apps you choose. You hold an account with a SimpleFIN server, such as SimpleFIN Bridge, and give an app a one-time setup token; the app exchanges it for a private access URL and reads your accounts, balances and transactions from it. Nothing the protocol grants can move money.
The server you choose is the one that connects to your bank, and you can revoke an app there at any time. SimpleFIN Bridge is the best-known server; other providers, such as RedBark, offer SimpleFIN-compatible access too. 2Fin connects to any SimpleFIN server in the web app, the Windows app and self-hosted deployments.
Worked example
You create a setup token in SimpleFIN Bridge and paste it into 2Fin. 2Fin claims it once, stores the access URL it gets back encrypted, and asks for up to 400 days of history on the first sync; pending card payments wait until they post.
Common mistake
Treating the access URL like the setup token. The setup token is spent the moment an app claims it; the access URL it returns carries the credentials, so it belongs only inside the app that claimed it.
Grounded in SimpleFIN — protocol specification guidance. Figures last checked . General information, not tax advice.
Related terms
Open banking connector
Software that moves bank transaction data between systems on published standards.
OFX (Open Financial Exchange)
The open bank-download format behind Quicken and Money files.
Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS)
A licensed bank offering accounts, cards and payments to other companies through APIs.
ISO 20022
The international standard for financial messages — payments, statements and more.
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Questions about this term
SimpleFIN: common questions
- Is SimpleFIN the same as SimpleFIN Bridge?
- No. SimpleFIN is the protocol, an open specification anyone can implement. SimpleFIN Bridge is a service run by SimpleFIN that implements it and connects to banks; an app that speaks SimpleFIN can read from the Bridge or from any other compatible server.
- Can a SimpleFIN connection move money?
- No. The protocol is read-only: an app holding a SimpleFIN access URL can read accounts, balances and transactions, and nothing in the protocol lets it send a payment, add a payee or change the account.
- How do I revoke an app’s SimpleFIN access?
- At the SimpleFIN server, not in the app. Removing the app’s connection there invalidates its access URL at once, and the transactions the app already imported stay in it until you delete them there.
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