Hey Solmates!
You might have spotted a new message in your Solo app letting you know your connection is about to expire and a prompt directing you to renew your connection. You'd be right in thinking “Hang on… didn’t I already do this?” — but fear not! This is simply part of how open banking works in Australia. Every 12 months, your bank connection has to be re-authorised so Solo can keep syncing your transaction data. No drama, no hidden fees, no judgement about how often you buy pastries.
Below is everything you need to know about renewing, how to do it, and what to do if your bank throws a roadblock or two along the way.
If you have connected accounts but you’re not seeing anything about "renew connection," it's all good. It just means your bank connection was established within the last 11 months and doesn’t need a tune-up yet. We've taken the guesswork out of this for you, and the Solo app will let you know when your connection is up for renewal.
The advantages of renewing before your connection expires
- Your transactions continue syncing with Solo and without interruption
- Your connected account(s) stays active for another 12 months
- Any warnings about expiring connections disappear
- You avoid gaps in your business records, keeping business as usual as smooth as possible
If your connection expires before you have the chance to renew you can easily reconnect at any time. Just keep in mind that Solo can’t fetch the transactions that happened during the disconnection period.
How to Renew Connection in Solo (the easy way)
Many banks require access to their banking app or online banking portals to facilitate the consent renewal. If you're unsure, check out the compatibility requirements here.
Before you dive in: make sure you have the login credentials for your banking app or online banking website as well as having your phone nearby. You’ll need these to securely reconnect to your bank and to breeze through any two-factor authentication or one-time password steps along the way.
Once you've brushed up on the requirements are ready to go...
- Open Solo. If your connection is due, you’ll see a prompt letting you know your connection is about to expire
- Tap Renew Connection. You’ll be taken to your bank’s secure Open Banking consent page.
- Review and confirm. Your bank will show what data you’re sharing and for how long. Approve to continue.
- Return to Solo. Once you've renewed consent, Solo continues your connection without disruption for another 12 months.
How you'll know it's time to renew your connection
We know emails from banks and apps have an impressive habit of disappearing into spam folders or being politely ignored. That’s why Solo now handles most of the heavy lifting.
Here’s what you’ll see:
- Heads-up emails from Solo. We’ll send reminders before your renewal is due. They’re friendly, short, and promise not to lecture you about budgeting.
- App prompts at just the right time. When your renewal window opens, Solo will show a Renew Connection banner or message in-app. Tap it once, follow your bank’s usual authorisation flow, and you’re done.
- Clear status updates. If your consent is about to expire or has expired, Solo will make it obvious. No need to hunt around for clues.
Why do I need to renew my connection?
It's a bit of a boring answer, but an important one nonetheless: the Consumer Data Right (CDR) and the regulations governing open banking requires it. It’s part of what keeps it secure and transparent. You stay in control of your data, we check in with you every 12 months to make sure you want to keep sharing that data with us, and we keep receiving the info we need to power your Solo experience (but only if that's cool with you).
Important reminders
- You can have two external bank accounts connected to Solo at any given time.
- Some banks will show you a summary of your existing open banking authorisations as well as any other accounts that are eligible for connection. We've pre-selected your active connected accounts here. If you don't want to rock the boat, breeze through this section.
Troubleshooting
Most Solmates renew in seconds, but sometimes a bank decides it wants attention. If you hit a snag, try these:
- Check out Solo's connected accounts help content. The dedicated resources can help you get underway.
- Check your bank login. If your bank app password changed recently, renew using the latest one.This often happens when your password keychain tool doesn't sync between devices or the new password was set up without an email or username.
- Try again later. Banks occasionally have downtime, maintenance windows or full moon moments.
- Still stuck? Solo Support has you. If anything feels confusing, clunky or downright weird, jump into the comments or reach out through the Digital Assistant in More > Chat with us. We’re here, we’re friendly, and we’ve seen (almost) every banking quirk imaginable.
We’ve got your back
Renewing your connection might not be the most thrilling moment of your day, but it helps keep your financial world running smoothly inside Solo. And with the new renew connection flow, it’s quicker than ordering a flat white.
Additional resources
Solo Support Articles
- Renew your connection to keep getting transactions
- Connect your bank
- Connected accounts compatibility checker
Your bank's open banking resources
- Westpac: https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/innovation/open-banking/
- CommBank: https://www.commbank.com.au/banking/open-banking.html
- ANZ: https://www.anz.com.au/privacy/centre/open-banking-data-sharing/
- NAB: https://www.nab.com.au/customer-notices/open-banking/
- St. George: https://www.stgeorge.com.au/online-services/open-banking/
- Great Southern Bank: https://www.greatsouthernbank.com.au/open-banking
- Greater Bank: https://www.greater.com.au/openbanking
- Bendigo Bank: https://www.bendigobank.com.au/open-banking/
- Bank Australia: https://www.bankaust.com.au/support/open-banking
Don't see your bank here? Let the community team know in the comments.
