DBS launches developer platform that gives access to 155 banking APIs

Reimagining banking, DBS launches world’s largest banking API developer platform — DBS Bank — “With 155 APIs at launch for Singapore across more than 20 categories such as funds transfers, rewards, PayLah! and real-time payments, the platform will offer the world’s largest number of, and most relevant, banking APIs… More than 50 companies including household names such as AIG, McDonald’s, MSIG, PropertyGuru, as well as start-ups like Activpass, FoodPanda, Homage, and soCash have already hopped onto the platform.”



What's New in Payments

Nacha selects first five US payment APIs

Nacha’s API Standardization Industry Group names first five APIs to develop to support payments industry advancement — Nacha — “The API Standardization Industry Group, formally created in spring 2017, is working to further efforts to standardize the use of APIs in the US financial services industry by creating an ‘API playbook’ or standards framework. In support of that effort, during its most recent meeting, the API Standardization Industry Group named the first five APIs — from a larger list of 16 — that it will develop to support payments industry advancement.”



Macquarie open banking APIs let customers share transaction data with third parties

Macquarie to give customers data control with new open banking platform — ZDNet — “Information the new platform can share includes personal banking data such as a customer’s transactions and home loan balances, as well as their business and wealth information. It can be plugged into third-party providers like budgeting apps and accounting software, not just competing financial services providers; however, the third-party provider must meet Macquarie’s open platform standards and security criteria before it will turn over the data.”


What's New in Payments

W3C: All major browser makers ‘now implementing Payment Request API’

Standards for streamlined checkout gain traction — World Wide Web Consortium — “With these technologies, users no longer complete web forms to provide payment credentials, shipping information, and contact information. Instead, the user registers support for different payment methods — such as card payments, proprietary native mobile payments, bitcoin or other distributed ledgers, or credit transfers — with the browser or other user agent.”



UK challenger bank unveils open banking marketplace

Starling Bank’s Marketplace goes live — Starling Bank — “The Starling Marketplace is a brand new concept in banking whereby products from other fintech providers — and in the future lifestyle products — can sit within an easily browsed ecosystem all from within the app. These partners integrate with Starling Bank using their Open Banking and PSD2 compliant APIs… Starling is the first bank to have fully open, PSD2-ready APIs that allow collaboration between fintech companies.”


Open Banking launches account information and payment initiation API specifications

Open Banking launches account information and payment initiation API specifications — Open Banking — “The payments initiation API will enable third parties to set up secure payments on behalf of customers and, once authorised by the customer, submit the payment for processing. The specification currently caters for the submission of a single, immediate, domestic payment from UK personal and business current accounts and is payment scheme agnostic.”


What's New in Payments

Safaricom to upgrade M-Pesa to new platform

Safaricom to upgrade M-Pesa to new platform — Safaricom — “Following the upgrade, M-Pesa customers are set to benefit from an increase in the number of partners offering their services on the enhanced M-Pesa platform. This will be made possible through a new set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that will simplify the process of integration into M-Pesa, cutting down the time it takes from weeks to a few days, or even hours.”



Scotiabank adds multi-loyalty programs to mobile banking apps

Customers of Canada’s Scotiabank can now add, access and track their loyalty cards from 18 different programs using the bank’s mobile banking and My Mobile Wallet apps, which have been integrated with “multi-loyalty program functionality” supplied by loyalty network Points... More



BBVA makes eight APIs available to kickstart open banking program

BBVA API Market

Spanish bank BBVA has launched its open banking program by making eight of its APIs commercially available for the first time, meaning that third-party companies including startups and developers will be able to build new products and services by accessing and integrating customers’ banking data into their applications. More



What's New in Payments

Google to let users make in-app and online payments with any stored card and add P2P payments to digital assistant

Google Assistant

Google has unveiled a new payment API that will allow customers to make payments through third party mobile apps, websites and the company’s voice-based Google Assistant using “any credit or debit card stored in their Google account” from across a range of services including Android Pay, Google Play and Google Chrome. The API will also let customers use a stored card to complete transactions via a new peer-to-peer (P2P) payments feature that will be added to the digital assistant. More