On February 12, 2026, Truist announced a partnership with Mastercard to introduce its first open banking integration, enabling clients to securely share financial data with third-party applications. The move allows customers to connect their Truist accounts to participating financial platforms while strengthening security and control over their financial data.
Truist was established in 2019 following the merger of BB&T and SunTrust Banks and has since become one of the 10 largest commercial banks in the U.S., reporting total assets of approximately $544 billion.
What is open banking?
Open banking is a financial framework in which banks allow third parties, e.g. fintechs or payment service providers, to access certain customer banking data through secure digital interfaces known as APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). Access to data is granted only with a customer’s consent and allows various financial services to connect across different platforms.
Adoption of open banking varies across different regions. In the UK and across the European Union, open banking is regulated by the Payment Services Regulations (2017) and the PSD2 directive, respectively. The PSD2 essentially increases competition in payments, while strengthening security through measures like strong customer authentication, and standardizing payment rules across the European market.
U.S. adoptions remains fragmented
Unlike the regulation-driven open banking in the EU, adoption in the U.S. has remained rather fragmented. Rather than a single national directive, open banking has largely developed through voluntary partnerships between banks and fintechs. The CFPB’s Section 1033 rule was intended to provide a framework for consumer-authorized data sharing, however, it was met with criticism from banking organizations citing that it failed to address key issues in security, oversight, and liability.
Truist and open banking
Against this backdrop of these open banking ecosystems, Truist’s partnership with Mastercard offers a useful entry point to examine the technologies behind it, particularly the patents and innovations it has been developing to support security, trust, and data privacy in an increasingly interconnected financial environment.
Truist: Patenting Activity
Truist’s patent filings saw a significant uptick in 2022, reflecting the culmination of the bank’s key digital banking solutions. During this period, we observed filings tied to artificial intelligence or machine learning, covering areas such as predictive analytics, behavioral modeling, automated decision engines, and AI-driven assistants.
Truist: Top Law Firms
Truist’s patent filings employ a blended prosecution approach that integrates internal IP leadership with external legal support. The majority of filings are overseen by Michael A. Springs, Truist Bank’s in-house Chief IP Counsel and Senior Vice President, followed by Kilpatrick Townsend which is the bank’s most prominent external counsel.
Another significant contributor is Patrick B. Horne from Shumaker and Jordan IP Law, whose IP practice supports a broad range of technologies relevant to financial services.
Truist: Top Technology Areas
Truist’s patent activity is primarily concentrated in digital data processing (G06F) and ICT systems for financial and administrative tasks (G06Q), highlighting a strong focus on core computing infrastructure and operational automation.
This is followed by filings in digital information transmission (H04L) and computational models (G06N), reflecting investments in secure data exchange and AI-driven processing. Smaller clusters in image processing, wireless communications, and voice analysis point to targeted innovation in user interfaces, authentication, and intelligent customer interactions.
Patents powering Truist’s digital trust
Truist has built a portfolio of financial technology patents aimed at modernizing digital banking, payments, and customer engagement. These filings are part of the bank’s broader effort to improve security, personalization, and automation across its financial services platforms to deliver more efficient, user-centric banking experiences.
Centralized data privacy and consent management system
U.S. Patent No. 12,216,792 introduces a data privacy architecture that centrally manages personal data alongside user consent and privacy preferences, helping ensure that information is accessed and used according to individual privacy choices.
As digital services increasingly rely on personal data, managing user consent across multiple systems has become complex and fragmented. Privacy preferences are often captured inconsistently or stored separately from the data they govern, making it difficult to apply them uniformly. This fragmentation can lead to inconsistent data handling and greater compliance challenges.
The patented approach addresses this by storing privacy preferences alongside user data within a centralized architecture. These rules are applied automatically when data is accessed or processed, helping ensure that privacy choices are consistently enforced. By embedding privacy controls directly into data operations, the system reduces unnecessary data use while improving compliance with privacy requirements.
The patent, titled “Data privacy architecture, systems, and methods”, was filed on September 29, 2022, and granted on February 4, 2025. The patent lists Chris McClennen, Josephine Middleton-Saulny, Jennifer Gray, Joseph Law, Giridhar Polur, and Seshadri Chintalapati as inventors. Representation was provided by Truist’s in-house lawyer, Michael A. Springs, and Patrick B. Horne from Shumaker.
Enhancing data integrity with blockchain MDM
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2025/0013789 introduces a blockchain-based master data management system that enhances trust, data integrity, and governance across distributed environments.
As organizations rely on data-driven operations, maintaining consistent and reliable business data is challenging. Traditional Master Data Management (MDM) systems aim to unify multiple data sources but often struggle with quality issues and inconsistencies. This can make master data unreliable and limit its effectiveness in decision-making. They also typically lack robust ways to validate and govern data across multiple participants, leaving gaps in oversight and accountability.
To address this challenge, the patented approach addresses these limitations by implementing a blockchain-based ledger shared across nodes. Transactions are verified through consensus, and smart contracts enforce business rules and automate processes. Trust protocols govern data validation and reconciliation, while decentralized and centralized controls allow discrepancies to be resolved under predefined policies. This approach enhances the reliability and consistency of master data across distributed systems.
The patent, titled “Distributed cryptographic blockchain establishing trust control for enhanced security”, was filed on September 24, 2024. The patent lists Lekha Banerjee, Thomas Dickson, Randhir Bhan, and Srinivasan Ramanujam as inventors.
Simplifying user control for network data sharing
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2024/0333690 introduces a system for managing network data sharing that gives users greater control over how their personal information is shared with third parties.
As individuals increasingly share personal information across various sectors, existing systems often provide limited control over how their data is used. Privacy protections are fragmented and vary by sector, requiring separate consent mechanisms for each type of information. This makes it difficult for users to know who can access their data and under what conditions, creating gaps in privacy and inconsistent control over personal information.
The patented approach addresses these challenges by providing a system that manages user-defined data sharing preferences. Through a user interface, individuals can specify what data to share, who can access it, and how long it can be accessed. The system automatically enforces these preferences, ensuring that only the designated data is shared. By integrating user selection with automated enforcement, the approach enhances privacy, simplifies data sharing, and improves user confidence in controlling personal information.
The patent, titled “System for controlling network data sharing”, was filed on March 31, 2023. The patent lists Barath Jayaraman as its sole inventor.
Looking ahead
By the second half of 2025, Truist has launched a five‑year growth investment plan to expand its presence in high‑growth U.S. markets. The plan includes building 100 new insights‑driven branches, renovating over 300 existing locations, enhancing digital capabilities, and hiring additional Premier advisors. This initiative aims to strengthen client relationships and integrate modernized physical and digital banking experiences.