Softwr

APIs · head to head

Aiia vs Method Financial

Aiia logo

Aiia

APIs

Open banking and open finance API platform, now operating as Mastercard Open Banking

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Method Financial logo

Method Financial

APIs

Consumer liability data and payment API covering credit cards, loans and mortgages without account credentials

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Aiia it is now part of Mastercard rather than an independent company, so a business specifically wanting to avoid card network dependency in its banking infrastructure no longer gets that separation by choosing Aiia.; Method Financial institution coverage is uneven once you move beyond major card issuers, so a lender focused on auto or student loan servicers should test its own portfolio mix rather than trust the headline institution count.
  • They diverge on capability: Aiia covers Bank account data access, Method Financial covers Identity-based account resolution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aiia and Method Financial actually diverge.

Attributes where Aiia and Method Financial differ
AttributeAiiaMethod Financial
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Aiia

  • Bank account data access
  • Payment initiation
  • Mastercard Open Finance integration
  • Modern authentication support
  • Multi-country coverage
  • Developer documentation and sandbox

Only in Method Financial

  • Identity-based account resolution
  • Liability data
  • Payoff quotes
  • Direct card payoff
  • Loan payments
  • Method Sync
  • Wide institution reach
  • Consent management

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Aiia

  • A lending or credit product needing affordability checks via European bank account datanot Method Financial
  • A personal finance or accounting product needing transaction history across Nordic and European banksnot Method Financial
  • A payments product wanting account-to-account payment initiation under open banking regulationnot Method Financial
  • A business wanting the stability and continued investment of Mastercard ownership behind its banking connectivity providernot Method Financial

Method Financial

  • A debt consolidation lender that needs every card balance and payoff quote for an applicant without asking them to log into each issuernot Aiia
  • A credit card refinancing product that must send funds directly to the cards being paid off rather than to the consumernot Aiia
  • A personal finance application that wants an accurate debt picture including auto and student loans that deposit-account aggregation does not shownot Aiia
  • A credit union offering balance transfer where the application drop-off from credentialed linking is the main constraint on volumenot Aiia

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Aiia

  • It is now part of Mastercard rather than an independent company, so a business specifically wanting to avoid card network dependency in its banking infrastructure no longer gets that separation by choosing Aiia.
  • Pricing is not published and requires engaging Mastercard's open finance sales process, which can be a heavier sales motion than dealing with a smaller independent open banking provider.
  • Its strongest bank coverage remains concentrated in the Nordics and Northern Europe, so companies needing dense coverage in Southern or Eastern Europe should verify current bank connectivity before committing.
  • Brand confusion is real: developer documentation, login portals and older case studies still reference "Aiia" while newer Mastercard material refers to "Mastercard Open Banking," and a company researching either name in isolation may miss half the relevant material.
  • As with any open banking platform, reliability still depends on the consistency of the underlying banks' own APIs, which is a systemic industry issue rather than something Aiia specifically controls.

Method Financial

  • Institution coverage is uneven once you move beyond major card issuers, so a lender focused on auto or student loan servicers should test its own portfolio mix rather than trust the headline institution count.
  • It reads liabilities, not cash flow, so a lender that also needs income and affordability evidence is running a second aggregator alongside it and paying twice for consumer connectivity.
  • Payoff quote accuracy and freshness are commercially load bearing, because a consolidation loan funded against a stale figure leaves a residual balance and a customer complaint, and the contractual position on that risk needs to be explicit.
  • Pricing is unpublished and split across data and payment events, which makes unit economics hard to model before volume and easy to misjudge in a product where every application triggers multiple calls.
  • Identity-based access without credentials depends on consumer consent capture being defensible, and any shift in US regulatory interpretation of permissioned data access lands directly on this model rather than on the edges of it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiia

On request
  • Aiia Enterprise (Mastercard Open Banking)$undefined/year
    • Pricing not published, quote via Mastercard Open Finance sales

Method Financial

On request
  • Method API$undefined/year
    • Quoted by volume and product mix across data retrieval and payments
    • Separate pricing for liability data, payoff quotes and payment execution
    • Sandbox access available for development

Which should you pick?

Choose Aiia if

  • You need bank account data access.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want payment initiation.
Aiia review

Choose Method Financial if

  • You need identity-based account resolution.
  • You also want liability data.
Method Financial review

Questions people ask

Is Aiia or Method Financial better?
Neither clearly leads. Aiia starts at On request and Method Financial at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aiia or Method Financial?
Aiia starts at On request and Method Financial at On request.
Does Aiia or Method Financial run on more platforms?
Aiia runs on Web, API. Method Financial runs on Web.
What is Aiia best used for?
Aiia is most often used for a lending or credit product needing affordability checks via european bank account data, a personal finance or accounting product needing transaction history across nordic and european banks, a payments product wanting account-to-account payment initiation under open banking regulation, a business wanting the stability and continued investment of mastercard ownership behind its banking connectivity provider. Of those, a lending or credit product needing affordability checks via european bank account data and a personal finance or accounting product needing transaction history across nordic and european banks are not what Method Financial is typically brought in for.
What can Aiia do that Method Financial cannot?
Aiia covers Bank account data access, Payment initiation, Mastercard Open Finance integration, Modern authentication support. Method Financial covers Identity-based account resolution, Liability data, Payoff quotes, Direct card payoff.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Aiia: Is Aiia still an independent company?

No, it was acquired by Mastercard in 2021 and now operates as part of Mastercard Open Finance Solutions, referenced as Aiia Enterprise.

Method Financial: How is this different from Plaid?

Plaid connects to deposit accounts with credentials and returns transactions. Method resolves liabilities from verified identity without credentials and can pay those accounts directly. Most lenders use both.

Aiia: Does the Aiia brand still exist?

Yes, in developer documentation and login portals, but the company behind it is Mastercard.

Method Financial: Do consumers have to log in to each card issuer?

No. That is the point of the product, and removing that step is what changes conversion in consolidation and refinancing flows.

Aiia: Which banks does it cover?

Around 3,000 European banks, with strongest coverage in the Nordics and Northern Europe.

Method Financial: What does it cost?

Not published. It is quoted by volume and split across liability data, payoff quotes and payment execution.

Method Financial: Can it actually pay off a credit card?

Yes, funds are sent directly to the identified card accounts, which is what makes balance transfer and consolidation products work without account numbers.

Share

Related pages

More on Aiia

More on Method Financial

Keep looking

Other head to heads