The API Standardization Industry Group, formally created in the spring of 2017, is working to further efforts to standardize the use of APIs in the U.S. financial services industry. In support of that effort, the Group met Feb. 28 at Google’s YouTube Campus in San Francisco to further progress on the initial API development efforts that were identified in the fall of 2017.

The main goal of the latest meeting was to showcase progress on API use case efforts and confirm prioritization and refine requirements of the APIs. Announced late last year, the Group prioritized API: Account Validation, API: Get Account Balance/API: Get Account History, API: Get Bank Contact Information, API: Interoperability, and API: Transaction Status as the first five APIs for development. During the February meeting, the Group further prioritized API development efforts, agreeing to API: Account Validation and API: Get Bank Contact Information as the first two of five to be released to the industry in second quarter of 2018, and agreeing to the initial requirements for both APIs.

“By further prioritizing our efforts, we can ensure rapid deployment of key APIs that will help jumpstart standardization,” said George Throckmorton, Managing Director, Network Development & Strategic Initiatives at NACHA, and API Standardization Industry Group lead. “This will also allow us to learn from this initial work to inform enhancements, development and release of subsequent APIs to support continued API standardization efforts for the financial services industry.”

The API Standardization Industry Group meeting also served as an opportunity to showcase progress on development of the online resource community. In January, the Group announced that it would be working with its partners, Accenture and Apigee, to create and deploy a new microsite with a developer portal and sandbox for API testing. During the meeting, attendees were able to view a test version of the site, which will contain general industry information, resources and documentation on APIs and the API Standardization Industry Group; the developer portal and sandbox, which will allow registered developers to access the APIs and test leveraging their own applications and software; and a forum where developers can communicate and collaborate.

“The online resource community will serve as a robust tool to further support and accelerate API standardization and adoption,” added Throckmorton.

The Resource community will launch in early second quarter 2018 with the release of the first two APIs – API: Account Validation and API: Get Bank Contact Information.

For additional information on the outcomes and updates from the February meeting, download the API Standardization Industry Group Meeting Summary Report.

The next meeting of the API Standardization Industry Group will be held April 29 in San Diego in conjunction with NACHA’s PAYMENTS 2018 conference. PAYMENTS, the definitive destination for faster payments education, unites thousands of payments system stakeholders from business end users and financial and technology services organizations to debate and explore industry issues and opportunities. Online registration is now open.