Open banking - two sides of the same coin
First of all, its important to understand the difference between publishing open banking and consuming open banking.
Publish
An account provider is required to publish a set of APIs which enable other institutions (third-party providers) to access user information and initiate payments on behalf of its users. For example, a bank must provide a way for a customer of that bank to view their transactions using a third party app. This is achieved through use of a Dedicated Interface.
For in-scope account providers, the requirement to publish is mandatory.
Consume
As long as they have the relevant permissions to do so, an organisation can choose to consume those APIs. When acting in this capacity, the "consuming' organisation is known as a third-party provider.
For example, a fintech may choose to build an app that allows a user to see their transactions from multiple bank account in one app. To do so, the third-party provider connects to the account providers Dedicated Interface API.
Similarly, a fintech may choose to collect payments from customers by consuming an account provider's Dedicated Interface API in order to initiate a payment out of the customer's account held at the account provider.
An account provider may choose to make use of these consume services, but is not mandated to to so. This side of the coin is simply a value add that is available to them, and to any other organisation that is able to satisfy the regulator that it should be granted to relevant permission.
How does an account provider publish open banking APIs?
There are numerous ways that this. can be achieved, which we cover in other articles. One of the most effective and low-cost ways to achieve this is to work with a provider such as tell.money, who can provide a fully managed end-to-end solution on SaaS basis. Alternatively, an account provider can create it's own APIs. As long as they are made publicly available and meet all of the requirements, then the regulator is happy.
If I publish, does that mean I can consume as well?
No, these are separate parts of the supply chain and should never be mixed up. For those who are familiar with the card payments model of issuing and acquiring, it can be thought of in much the same way. By issuing a payment card to its customer base, a bank does not automatically receive the ability (technically or in a regulatory sense) to acquire payments. Sure, they can also become (or work with) an acquirer, but it is understood that these are entirely separate disciplines.
Do you have any questions?
We've got you covered. Take a look at our FAQs or get in touch with the team at info@tell.money
Comments