Konsentus has acquired Open Banking Europe S.A.S. from PRETA. OBE will remain a separate operating entity, but its software solutions will be directly integrated into Konsentus' business, according to a press release.

Formed in 2017, the OBE initiative has brought market participants together in a collaborative environment to identify market issues and create workable solutions, standards and tools.

OBE also identified the need for a single, standardized and machine-readable repository of regulatory data that related to third-party providers. This led to the set-up of the OBE 'Regulatory Directory' that consolidates information from the National Competent Authority registers and makes it available, but in a way that is easy to access and process. It is used by over 500 of the largest financial institutions across Europe to support PSD2 access to account compliance processes.

PRETA, a fully-owned subsidiary of the EBA the coming months said will strive to ensure a smooth operational handover for all parties involved.

The Open Banking Europe Community will complement the work Konsentus is already doing to support the safe and secure exchange of financial and non-financial information between payment service providers and other market players for the benefit of the wider digital economy.

"Working with PRETA's Open Banking Europe was an obvious next step to accelerate our European expansion and cement our position as market leader. We are delighted to welcome the clients of PRETA OBE to Konsentus and are proud that over 500 financial institutions, including some of the biggest and most prestigious banks within Europe, will also become Konsentus clients," Mike Woods, CEO, Konsentus said in the release.