Built on the Apigee Edge API platform, Apigee Open Banking APIx features pre-built application programming interfaces (APIs) for banking, an open banking developer portal, and additional tools to help empower financial institutions to securely share data and build an ecosystem of partners and customers.

In anticipation of the final adoption of PSD2 by EU Cabinet of Ministers and subsequent enforcement of PSD2 at the member state level, Apigee is teaming with leading global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture to work on developing customized client solutions for open banking spurred by PSD2. At Apigee’s Open Banking & PSD2 Summit in London today, Apigee is showcasing its Open Banking APIx solution together with industry use cases developed by Accenture. The collaboration is a part of the ongoing Apigee and Accenture global alliance that was established in 2013.

“We applaud the fact that the industry is moving quickly toward open banking in the EU and incorporating clarity on the use of emerging payment methods, such as mobile and online,” said Anurag Wadhera, Apigee vice president, solutions. “In the open banking model, value for financial institutions may come less from owning and protecting data, and more from sharing and leveraging key assets. Our open banking accelerator solution, together with Accenture’s banking industry thought leadership, is designed to demystify this process and help banks reap the potential benefits of open banking faster.”

PSD2 Requires APIs
PSD2, established by the European Commission and currently pending the adoption by the EU Counsel of Ministers, is a major policy development set to impact the payments industry across Europe. The PSD2 seeks to standardize and make interoperable card, Internet, and mobile payments. PSD2 may accelerate open banking because it requires banks to open up data and transactions to certain new payment market entrants. By January 2018, all financial institutions in the 28 EU member states need to be PSD2 compliant.

"PSD2 presents a business opportunity as well as a compliance obligation," said Simon Hamilton from Nationwide Building Society. "For us, open APIs are a key element of an open banking strategy. We are working with Apigee and Accenture to get our PSD2 programme up and running quickly, with the right underlying technology, in a way that can empower us to take full advantage of the benefits of this new business model. It is readily apparent that the combined team is extremely committed to our shared vision."

PSD2 requires that banks provide open access to regulated third parties to customer account information, transaction information, and payment initiation to these new third-party payment providers via APIs (per the PSD2 XS2A rule), while meeting stringent requirements for strong authentication and secure communication. According to analysts at Gartner, “Banks will be required to provide API access to customer accounts…This will require bank investment in application service governance and API management. For example, most financial institutions will need to build or buy an API management gateway and create new APIs to provide access to customer accounts.”[1]

“Regulatory changes in Europe such as the PSD2 may accelerate payments innovation to a new phase of development for EU banks,” said Jeremy Light, managing director, Accenture Payment Services. “Banks must be ready to embrace these changes as catalysts for positive innovation. Accenture has significant experience working with our financial services clients to implement both front- and back-end API transformation. We believe it is essential that banks work with an API management platform that facilitates secure access with partners and developers while also providing strong security controls, and we look forward to continuing to working with Apigee to help deliver their solution.”