Open banking initiatives are changing the way banks operate and engage with third parties and partners. However, those are not the only changes the movement is causing — it’s also having an unexpected side effect of pushing banks to reimagine their traditional roles as financial institutions (FIs).
Now, several major financial giants are encouraging industry-wide collaborations with the launch of B2B market platforms. In the latest edition of the B2B API Tracker™, PYMNTS explores the newest developments in the financial services space, including the debut of platforms designed to help legacy banks and emerging FinTech firms more effectively collaborate on new products for clients.
Around The B2B API World
European banking players seem particularly eager to participate in application program interface (API)-powered partnerships.
In Russia, for example, Sberbank unveiled a new platform specifically designed to make B2B payments more efficient. The retail bank’s new platform, known as “B2B Payments,” was developed in collaboration with Yandex.Checkout. The platform works to automatically generate invoices, allowing companies to accept online payments from corporate clients.
Elsewhere in Europe, some FIs are waiting until next year to release their own API platforms.
In the U.K., HSBC is expected to release its Digital Partner Platform in early 2019, which provides a portal that connects FinTech firms and other third parties to HSBC’s corporate clients using APIs. Once on the platform, FinTech firms and third parties can work together to develop new financial tools and services.
Financial services giant Visa is also debuting a new platform, one developed with blockchain technology. The platform, B2B Connect, will be released in 2019 as well and can be used to enable faster cross-border B2B payments, according to an announcement.
IBM Seeks To Help Banks Embrace Digital Transformation
However, it’s not only banks and financial services companies that are launching platforms to foster API collaborations. Last month, tech giant IBM launched its own platform at the Sibos conference in Sydney, Australia. The offering, known as the Open Banking Platform, is designed to help traditional banks pursue API strategies by connecting their legacy systems to the cloud.
Overall, these platforms are helping banks pursue API-based innovations — and much more. According to IBM Chief Technology Officer Tom Eck, they are also helping banks shift their traditional roles as FIs to market platforms, inviting developers to work together to create financial innovations for the banks’ clients.
In the November feature story, Eck shares how API-driven initiatives like open banking are opening new doors for banks.
About The Tracker
The B2B API Tracker™ serves as a monthly framework for the space, providing coverage of the most recent news and trends, along with a provider directory that highlights the key players contributing across the segments that comprise the B2B API ecosystem.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
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