Open Banking Europe, the entity operated by EBA Clearing subsidiary Preta, has published a draft API signature specification, as part of an attempt to provide a coherent standard for fintechs connecting to bank APIs.
The work on the standard has been led by OBE and standards body Etsi and has brought together experts from the different PSD2 API communities, including Berlin Group, Stet, Sibs, Czech Open Banking, UK Open Banking, Polish Bank Association, Team Digitale,, Consorzio CBI, Borica and the Slovak Banking Association.
The profile is geared at meeting the requirements of the ETSI "JAdES" specification, which is currently under development for advanced electronic signatures and seals in line with the EU eIDAS Regulation.
Nick Pope, vice-chair of Etsi TC on Electronic Signatures and Infrastructures, comments: “This standard is a great step forward in harmonising signing solutions. It builds directly on the IETF JSON Web Signature, takes advantage of ETSI’s experience in working on signature formats for two decades, and brings together the existing approaches of the PSD2 API communities into a single approach."
The draft format has been published for industry review and feedback as well as further consultation with relevant standardisation agencies.
John Broxis, managing director of Preta/Open Banking Europe, says: “With this work, we are pleased to continue the mission of Open Banking Europe to describe and standardise Open Banking practices in Europe following the implementation of PSD2."