Overview
No single system can fully represent a person’s employment or income history. People work in different ways (PAYE, self-employment, agency work), and different systems capture different parts of that picture. That's why Konfir supports multiple data sources. This article explains the role each source plays and how they work together.
Tip: You can configure which data sources are available to your applicants and in which order - just get in touch.
Tip: For step-by-step applicant screens and support, see Applicant Experience
Comparison
The table below provides a high-level comparison of each source: what it is, what it’s used for, what the applicant needs to do, and indicative completion rates and time to complete.
| HMRC | Open Banking | Payroll | Documents |
Description | Income Tax (PAYE) records | Bank transaction data | Employer payroll records | HMRC issued tax summary (SA302) |
UK coverage | 100% | 98% | Varies by employer | 100% |
Time window | 5 years | 6 years* | Current Employment | 5 years |
Verification Types | Employment Income | Employment Income
| Employment Income | Employment Income |
Employment Type | PAYE | PAYE | PAYE | Self-Employment |
Applicant action | Consent Sign in Authorise
| Consent Select Bank Sign in Authorise
| Consent | Consent Upload Document
|
Applicant Conversion | 80% | 90% |
|
|
Time to complete | 1-2 minutes | ~1 minute | Seconds | 1-2 minutes |
Data provided
The table below shows which types of evidence each source can contribute to a verification.
| HMRC | Open Banking | Payroll | Documents |
Employer name | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Employment dates | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Job title | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
Income (totals) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Income (insights) | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Notes
HMRC: Anyone who has worked in the UK more than 3 months will have a Government Gateway account. Some applicants may need to create or recover access first.
Open Banking: Some banks and account types may not support Open Banking connections. See Open Banking
Payroll: Coverage depends on whether the applicant’s employer uses a supported payroll provider and whether payroll access is available.
Time to complete: The timings above are typical when the applicant can sign in successfully. Completion time can be longer if the applicant has issues accessing their HMRC or bank login.