How We Work
Open Data Consult works with fintechs, banks, and platform engineering teams to solve complex technology, payments, and regulatory-driven system problems.
Our work typically sits where delivery risk is high, decisions are costly to get wrong, and there isn't a clear off-the-shelf answer – particularly at the intersection of payments, security, identity, and Open Finance.
What We Help With
Fintech Architecture & Technical Strategy
We help teams design and evolve fintech platforms that are robust, scalable, and commercially viable.
This includes:
- Platform and API architecture
- Build vs buy decisions
- Technology trade-offs and roadmap clarity
- Designing systems that can evolve as regulation and product scope change
Our focus is always on what will actually work in production, not theoretical perfection. The aim is to reduce uncertainty early and give teams a clear technical direction they can execute against with confidence.
Payments & Embedded Finance
We advise on payments architecture and embedded finance models, including wallets, loyalty systems, and closed-loop or hybrid payment flows.
Typical engagements involve:
- Designing payment flows and settlement models
- Integrating payments with product and customer journeys
- Balancing speed, certainty of funds, and regulatory constraints
- Avoiding common design mistakes that lead to cost or operational risk later
We help teams avoid common design mistakes that lead to operational complexity, regulatory exposure, or expensive rework later.
Open Banking & Open Finance
We bring deep, hands-on experience from multiple Open Banking jurisdictions, including the UK and Canada.
We help with:
- Open Banking and Open Finance platform design
- API standards and implementation
- Consent, trust frameworks, and regulatory alignment
- Navigating ambiguity where regulation is evolving or unclear
Open Banking is often one part of a wider fintech platform – we help teams integrate it sensibly rather than treat it as an isolated system.
Security, Identity & Trust Frameworks
We specialise in security architectures that underpin fintech and Open Finance platforms.
This includes:
- OAuth 2.x and OAuth 2.1
- OpenID Connect
- FAPI and advanced security profiles
- mTLS, PKI, and certificate management
- Consent-driven security models
We work closely with engineering and security teams to ensure solutions are secure and practical to operate.
Delivery Support, Reviews & Enablement
We are often brought in when teams are stuck, scaling, or facing delivery risk.
This work can include:
- Architecture and codebase reviews
- Technical troubleshooting and root-cause analysis
- Delivery risk assessment
- Technical due diligence for partners or investors
- Upskilling engineers and architects through hands-on guidance
The aim is to unblock progress and leave teams stronger, not dependent.
How Engagements Typically Work
Engagements are senior-led, pragmatic, and tailored to the problem at hand.
We usually start with a short exploratory conversation to understand:
- What you're building
- Where you're encountering friction
- What decisions feel risky or unclear
From there, work may take the form of:
- Short advisory engagements
- Focused technical reviews
- Ongoing architecture support
- Embedded support for critical phases of delivery
There are no fixed packages – the work is shaped around your context and objectives. Clients typically engage us when they need experienced, independent technical judgement rather than another delivery vendor or generic consultancy.
Who We Work With
We typically work with:
- Fintechs from early-stage through to scale-up
- Banks and credit unions modernising platforms
- Product and engineering leaders responsible for delivery under regulatory pressure
Most clients come to us because they need experienced, independent technical judgement rather than another vendor or generic consultancy.
Next Steps
If you're navigating a complex fintech, payments, or Open Finance challenge, we're happy to compare notes.
A short conversation is often enough to clarify whether we can help – and what the right next step looks like.
Why Work With Us
- We actually ship. Less slideware, more working software.
- We understand the spec. Because we helped write it.
- We upskill your team. You keep the capability after we've gone.
- We don't reinvent wheels. We reuse proven patterns and ship faster.
- We cut waste, not corners. Decisions made quickly, backed by evidence.
- We play well with others. Vendors, security, compliance, legal - all aligned.
Why You Probably Shouldn't Work With Us
- If you want "agile" meetings with no outcomes
- If your procurement takes longer than it took us to build the Brazilian Open Banking ecosystem
- If your strategy is "wait for regulators to tell us what to do"
- If you prefer working with people who tell you what you want to hear
- If you value wallpaper over fundamentals - we solve problems, we don't decorate them
- If you want daily time tracking and Gantt charts - hire a PMO, not us
What It's Like to Work With Us
- We're not a vendor. We're the grown-ups who arrive when things need doing.
- We say what we mean. If it's rubbish, we'll tell you. Politely - and fix it.
- We're fast. If your team isn't used to that, it might be a shock at first.
- We leave things better than we found them. The architecture, the repo, the energy.
- Your team levels up. Technical, strategic, interpersonal - all of it.
Ready to Talk?
If you're navigating a complex fintech, payments, or Open Finance challenge, we're happy to compare notes.