APIs

Background:
APIs have been around in technology world for many years but only relatively recently in the payments and cash management area. APIs are used to connect two or more computer system, allowing the transfer of data from one system to be consumed by the other. APIs are often grouped together to allow for a sequence of data exchanges to complete an overall business task. APIs are typically easier to develop and deploy than point to point system interfaces, and in operation will allow more rapid/ real time transfer of data.

Why is this important to businesses and corporates?

Real Time completion of business transaction demands real time solutions from Banks/ PSPs, as well as within the business. Businesses now expect to be able to send urgent payment instructions to their payment providers in real time. The most efficient way to do this is to embed payment APIs into the business transaction flow within the Organisation. Equally for real time orders data from an incoming payment needs to be received instantaneously from the recipient bank/ PSP into Organisations internal/ order systems. APIs can support this flow better than traditional data exchanges

Questions a business need to consider include:
• Do their payment and order flow need real time exchange of data internally and therefore externally with banks and Payment providers?
• What other real time exchange of data can speed up internal processes? – such as FX rates, intra-day bank statements/ entries,
• Does the Organisation's Bank have a published set of APIs that are well defined?
• Should the Organisation use Open Banking standard APi's to connect to multiple Banks/ payment providers?