What an account information services agent actually is

An account information services agent is a business that presents account information to a customer on behalf of a regulated principal firm. That sentence is accurate, but it compresses several different roles into one line. The distinction matters when the service is a budgeting app connected to a real bank account.

JEMA Software Ltd is registered on the Financial Services Register as an Account Information Services agent, with firm reference number 1061485. It operates under Finexer Ltd, the principal firm, whose firm reference number is 925695. JEMA is the agent. Finexer is the firm authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the relevant payment services.

That is not the same as saying JEMA Software Ltd is itself FCA authorised. We do not use that wording because it would describe the relationship incorrectly.

What account information services means

The FCA describes an account information service as an online service that provides consolidated information about one or more payment accounts held elsewhere. In ordinary language, it is the regulated part of bringing information from selected bank accounts into another product.

The information can include account details, balances and transactions. A budgeting interface can then organise that information into views such as categories, recurring payments and spending over time. The service is about presenting and processing account information. It is separate from payment initiation, which concerns starting a payment from a bank account.

An agent can present the principal firm's account information service through its own app. The regulated service remains the principal's service, provided through the agent. The FCA's perimeter guidance says that the relationship must be clear to the customer and that an agent cannot claim to provide the regulated account information service in its own right.

Why an agent relationship exists

Connecting directly to banks is not only a technical integration. It sits inside the Payment Services Regulations 2017. The work includes consent wording, security arrangements, incident handling, customer communications, complaints, data access controls and ongoing oversight.

A principal firm already has the relevant authorisation and infrastructure. It can appoint an agent to present the service, provided the agent is registered and the principal has suitable oversight. The FCA says principals are responsible for what their agents do or omit while providing the regulated service.

For a small product company, that route does not remove compliance work. It changes its shape. The company has to document its service, systems, people, controls and customer journey for the principal. The principal then has to be satisfied that the agent can operate within the agreed framework before registration is completed.

What the registration permits

The registration supports the account information part of the app. A user can choose to connect a supported account, complete the bank approval journey and allow the relevant account information to be returned through Finexer's infrastructure. The app can then display and process that information for its stated budgeting purpose.

The access used by the app is read-only. It does not provide payment initiation services. JEMA Software Ltd does not hold client funds, and the app cannot use this connection to transfer or withdraw money. Bank login credentials are entered only in the bank's own authentication journey, not into the budgeting app.

Registration is not a statement that every calculation in an app is perfect. Bank feeds can be delayed, transaction descriptions can be unclear and categorisation can be wrong. It is also not an endorsement of every unregulated feature or every piece of copy. It identifies the regulated role and the firm responsible for that service.

Why registration was needed

Without a regulated route, a company cannot simply ask banks for live customer account data and describe the result as open banking. The legal and technical system is built around regulated providers, explicit customer consent and secure communication between banks and third parties.

The product was designed to show connected account information back to the person who chose to connect it. That falls within account information services. Registration was therefore part of building the service, not a badge added to a finished marketing page.

The process forced useful questions early. Which data is actually required? What happens when consent ends? Which firm handles a complaint about the regulated service? What can support staff see? What happens if an account feed is incomplete? These are product questions as much as compliance questions.

How to check the position

The public record is the Financial Services Register. The entry for JEMA Software Ltd, FRN 1061485 shows the agent relationship. The entry for Finexer Ltd, FRN 925695 identifies the principal firm and its permissions.

The FCA's explanation of account information and payment initiation services sets out the regulatory categories. Its guidance on agency models explains the responsibilities that sit between a principal and an agent.

The practical meaning is narrow and important. JEMA Software Ltd presents a read-only account information service as Finexer's registered agent. Finexer is the authorised principal. The app uses the resulting information for budgeting views. It does not hold money or initiate payments.

For current service details, read the company's open banking explanation and Privacy Policy.