# Getting started: connecting your first account

> How to sign up for openfeed and connect your first bank or energy account — step by step, in plain English.

- Category: guides
- Audience: consumers
- Updated: 2026-07-17
- Canonical: https://openfeed.au/resources/getting-started-connecting-your-first-account

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Getting set up with openfeed takes a few minutes. You create an account, connect your first bank or
energy provider, and you're ready to share with the apps you choose. Here's exactly what to expect.

## 1. Create your openfeed account

Sign up with your email, or continue with Google or Apple. If you use email, we send you a one-time
code to confirm it's you, so there's no separate password to remember. Your openfeed account is
created the first time you sign in, so there's no lengthy registration form.

openfeed is **free for consumers**, always.

## 2. Connect your first provider

Choose whether to connect a **bank** or an **energy** provider, then pick your provider from the
list. From here you connect through the **Consumer Data Right (CDR)** — Australia's
government-backed system for sharing your own data.

This next step is deliberately thorough:

1. You're taken to your bank or energy provider to log in **with them directly** — openfeed never sees your
   password.
2. You confirm what you're connecting.
3. You're brought back to openfeed.

**You only do this once per provider**. To understand why this step is heavier than sharing with an app
later, see [Connect once, share in a tap](/resources/connect-once-share-in-a-tap).

## 3. We bring your data in

Once you have established a CDR Arrangement, openfeed imports your data securely in the background. You will
see a brief loading step while that happens — the first import pulls in some history, so give it a
moment.

After that, your data stays current automatically: banking refreshes every 4 hours, energy every 6, 
so you don't have to do anything to keep it up to date.

## You're ready to share

That's it — you're connected. From here you can share with the apps you choose in a single tap, and
stay in control of every connection from one place.