CitiConnect_API_Case_Study_Book

2 The API Phenomenon in Financial Services Banking is Open for Business Open Banking is fast becoming a global phenomenon across the world’s markets. Governments are actively encouraging initiatives and rolling out frameworks to enable a structured and transparent approach to data sharing between banks, non-bank providers and FinTech companies. The European Union’s second Payments Services Directive (PSD2) and the UK’s Open Banking Initiative are both well-publicised programs that mandate the use of standardised open APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to facilitate access to transaction and account data. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), is encouraging financial institutions to adopt APIs to drive banking innovation, consumer protection and transparency. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently launched an industry consultation for an Open API framework. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has introduced the concept of tokenized payments through its Unified Payment Interface (UPI); just as Thailand has done with PromptPay, and Singapore with PayNow. Authorities are also pushing for a breakthrough in cashless payments to help the digital economy reach its full potential. This is particularly true in developing countries. The use of APIs to digitize payments can drastically reduce settlement costs for merchants, while driving the growth of e-commerce by efficiently enabling account-based transactions and collections beyond the costly and often-limited use of credit cards. Introduction | API Playbook APIs Power the New Banking Landscape An API is a controlled conduit for the transmission of information between systems. It takes a message and tells a system what you want to do. It then returns the response and supporting information back to you — directly to the system that you operate. The future of the digital world lies in platforms that connect to one another through multiple API services. This creates opportunities for greater automation and integrated efficiency. APIs also help applications to be developed quickly and responsibly in a “future proof” manner, laying the foundations for superior customer-centric experiences. Keng Mun Lee Asia Pacific Digital Channels and Data Head, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi The Financial Industry is Evolving Everybody likes movies. In the past, to watch a film you would have to get dressed, drive to a cinema, buy a ticket and then find your seat in the dark amongst the crowded masses. With innovations such as cable and Internet TV, we can now enjoy a film piped straight into our homes, relaxing alone on the sofa — in our pyjamas, if we feel like it! And it is the same with banking — why go to a branch or log in to various Internet banking sites when banking services can be piped directly into your company’s infrastructure, complementing your sales and fulfilment models, operating controls and processing instantaneity? Mayank Mishra Global Head of Digital Channels, TTS