NACHA Picks Five APIs To Improve Payments

The Electronic Payments Association and the Payments Innovation Alliance announced Wednesday (Oct. 5) that it released a Meeting Summary Report and Overview Document from the latest meeting of the API Standardization Industry Group.

In a press release, the groups said the API Standardization Industry Group, which was formed in spring of 2017, is aiming to standardize the use of APIs in the U.S. financial services industry. In an attempt to achieve that goal, they are creating a so-called “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 that it will develop to support advancements in the payments industry.

“Work in the API Standardization Industry Group is progressing rapidly,” said George Throckmorton, head of the API Standardization Industry Group and managing director of network development and strategic initiatives at NACHA. “To assess the payments pain points and opportunities of today, identify the possible APIs to address those pain points and opportunities, and then ultimately select the APIs to develop first, in such a short amount of time, is truly commendable. We are excited with the progress to date and look forward to continuing our work to bring API standardization to the U.S. financial services industry.”

The previous meeting held in August brought together 60 leaders from more than 40 financial institutions, businesses, FinTechs and service provider organizations. In addition to determining the initial APIs for development, the group discussed next steps to ensure timely development and deployment of the APIs as part of the API Playbook.

The next meeting is slated for Oct. 11 in New York, and will be held in conjunction with the Payments Innovation Alliance Meeting. With the group’s priorities in place, it will begin working on developing the initial five APIs.