A new service will help the UK’s 1600 fintech firms connect to the financial system as open banking continues to shake up the sector.

The handsomely venture-backed startup, Plaid, which continues to roll out new developments of its open banking technology, will be launching data services in the UK this week.

In a statement on Wednesday, the firm, backed by Kleiner Perkins and a host of other marquee investors, said it would give UK fintechs a platform that “delivers the uptime and speed consumers expect, regardless of where they bank or if they are using a startup app or an established service used by millions.”

It is part of the ongoing courtship between traditional banks and fintech providers as they build trust and partnerships to deliver seamless services to customers. 

Fintech companies use Plaid’s open source APIs (application programming interfaces) to build apps and services and provide a fast and secure data connection between banks and app users. In the US, the technology powers popular services such as the Paypal-owned payment service Venmo and the crypto-currency manager Coinbase. It is often referred to as “fintech’s plumber". Since launching in 2012, the company, valued at $2.65 billion, and counting Goldman Sachs and Citi Ventures as direct stakeholders, now serves around 15,000 US banks and its UK arrival marks a first venture outside North America.

In the UK, Plaid will provide eight of the largest banks and neobanks (digital only banks) access to its infrastructure, and give fintech businesses instant access to 70 per cent of personal current accounts in the country, the group said.

Despite the business and investment gloom cast by Brexit, fintech is bucking the paralysis. “We’ve long admired the innovation coming out of the UK fintech sector,” Plaid co-founder Zach Perret said, citing progress has been “impressive.” On building a UK footprint, he said the UK sector is booming and offers the stiffest competition to US dominance. The firm said it expects to hire over 25 people in the UK over the next year.

UK fintech companies attracted $645 million in funding during the first quarter of 2019, topping European inflows. The government estimates that the number of UK fintech firms will more than double from the 1600 currently registered by 2030.