According to the white paper called “Unlocking opportunities in the API economy”, produced in collaboration with payments consultancy Innopay, application programming interfaces (APIs) seem set to usher in a new era of payments solutions, particularly with the advent of regulations such as the Second Payment Services Directive in Europe. However, standardisation of technical interfaces constitutes a crucial building block in enabling compliance with PSD2 and accessing the full benefits of API technology.

Starting with September 2019, PSD2 will see banks provide authorised payments providers with access to client bank accounts, most likely through APIs. The directive is seen as one step on the journey towards open banking, which promises to bring new financial products and services, as well as new business models and revenue streams for banks and financial services companies.

For corporates, banks and fintechs to unlock the opportunities, the paper recommends becoming actively involved in the working groups on harmonisation and implementation of standards, as well as exploring potential collaborations, be it co-developing API standards or working to provide other essential services such as API testing, and joining a central directory such as PRETA – which will be essential for the success of any API standardisation initiative.