Definition
The Berlin Group is a European consortium of banks, processors and technology providers that maintains the NextGenPSD2 standard.
It is the most widely adopted PSD2 API specification in Europe outside France: the one you encounter as soon as you integrate a German, Austrian or Scandinavian bank, or a pan-European neobank such as Revolut or N26.
Berlin Group vs STET vs OB UK
Three major standards coexist in Europe:
- Berlin Group / NextGenPSD2 — the pan-European standard (Germany, Austria, the Nordics, and partly Italy and Spain), the broadest in geographic reach.
- STET — the French (and Belgian) standard, dominant in the French banking market.
- OB UK — the British standard, the most mature and best documented, but outside the EU since Brexit.
They are conceptually close (the same AIS/PIS/CBPII roles, the same consent principles, eIDAS certificates) but technically different: endpoints, formats, error handling and SCA flows all vary.
What the Berlin Group produces
- NextGenPSD2 XS2A Framework: the spec that defines the AIS, PIS and CBPII endpoints, the consent model and the SCA flows (redirect, decoupled, embedded).
- Operational Rules: the rules of engagement between TPP and ASPSP (incidents, performance, support).
- Open Finance Framework: an ongoing extension that prepares for FIDA, beyond payment accounts.
- Regular updates: a version stabilised around 1.3.x, with enhancements for instant payments, VoP and PSD3.
What the Berlin Group does not do
- It authorises no one: that is the role of the NCAs (ACPR, BaFin, etc.).
- It does not write regulation: it translates PSD2 and the EBA's RTS into a technical spec.
- It operates no API: each bank hosts its own instance, with its own local specifics.
- It is not exclusive: in Germany it can coexist with more local standards (FinTS).
In the PSD2 ecosystem
The Berlin Group is the technical building block that lets a TPP integrate most European banks outside France. For a fintech targeting the whole of Europe it is an essential standard, alongside STET.
Real-world examples
- Banks on Berlin Group: Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, DKB, ING, Erste Bank, Nordea, Revolut, N26, HSBC France, Wise — most of the DACH and Nordic markets.
- Multi-standard aggregators: Tink (Visa), Bridge, TrueLayer, Yapily and Plaid (Europe) absorb the differences between Berlin Group, STET and OB UK to offer their clients a single API.
- Implementation variations: two banks on Berlin Group can diverge on the SCA flow (redirect / embedded / decoupled), on multi-account consent handling or on the actual availability of endpoints — the very fragmentation that aggregators solve.
- Anticipating FIDA: the Berlin Group is already working to extend NextGenPSD2 to savings, insurance and investment accounts, foreshadowing FIDA.