AJ Bell has today become the first investment platform in the UK to launch a Developer Hub through which banks and other financial apps will be able to request to link to the AJ Bell Youinvest platform.
AJ Bell is also announcing its first partnership for the new service with FinTech firm Bud Financial which will see AJ Bell Youinvest join the marketplace of Bud’s app and First Direct’s open banking offering Artha.
APIs
Put simply, an API is a set of programming instructions that allows separate systems to interact securely.
AJ Bell’s new Developer Hub (www.ajbell.io) will enable app and website developers to view its API documentation and register with AJ Bell to access test data through a dedicated sandbox. They will be able to collaborate with AJ Bell’s development team and, if approved by AJ Bell, link their app or open banking service to AJ Bell Youinvest.
AJ Bell Youinvest customers would then be able to request that their AJ Bell account information can be viewed via the financial app or open banking services they choose to use in a secure manner and without the need to share their login details.
AJ Bell is also working on a project that will enable AJ Bell Youinvest customers to request to be able to view their bank account, pension and ISA details from external providers via their AJ Bell account.
Bud Financial
AJ Bell and Bud are working together to allow Bud to use ajbell.io to offer customers the ability to view summary balances, portfolios and transaction histories through BUD’s account aggregation app and Artha, First Direct’s open banking service which is currently in Beta testing with customers.
Andrew Teale, head of innovation at AJ Bell comments: “There is naturally some scepticism around Open Banking but in time we believe it will be a real game changer for how Banking services are provided to customers and, in fact, will extend well beyond banking services. We believe in offering our customers the option to choose how they access information on their investments, in the same way they will be able to with their banking services.
“The launch of our Developer Hub provides a secure environment for us to work with app and website developers to link our services to theirs. We are pleased to announce our first partnership in this area is with the great team at Bud Financial, which will see our customers having the option of accessing their account information via the Bud app and First Direct’s Artha service.”
Alan Walsh, network and partnerships head at Bud, comments: "Over the last two years we've been working to deliver intelligent, connected experiences and we've been consistently presented with a catch 22. The more innovative providers had access to great, flexible tech but were struggling to establish themselves, whilst the more established providers had great trusted brands and significant customer bases but were behind the pace technologically. This partnership with AJ Bell is a great sign of things to come as they prove to the market that innovation and scale can go hand in hand."