Business executives looking to extract meaningful profits are increasingly turning to technology solutions that give them an advantage. Rapid advances in open-banking and open-finance standards and solutions are allowing companies to explore ways to steal the march on competitors by exploring untapped revenue streams or improving customer experiences.

Nedbank is at the forefront of rolling out a comprehensive suite of application programming interface (API) solutions in South Africa that enables companies to extend their reach by seamlessly integrating financial services into their customer value propositions.

What is an API?

An API is a software interface between companies and core banking services that range from showing account transactions to extending credit to customers. Integrating APIs in your business revolutionises how consumers use and access financial services in a digital age.

A typical example, and one of our more popular APIs, is one that enables you to import your business’s financial transactions into the Xero online accounting software. This functionality gives Xero access to account transactions to facilitate payroll, invoicing and inventory management in a secure manner.

A major benefit that APIs deliver is allowing organisations to offer financial solutions without needing to become a licensed financial services provider. This is a significant advantage, because it lowers the barriers and cost of offering these services to customers.

Lower barriers to entry, however, do not mean that APIs are appropriate for every business or available to all. We conduct thorough due-diligence checks to ensure that our API partners not only operate legitimately but also have the financial and technical capability and capacity to implement and maintain these services.

What APIs are available?

The Nedbank API Marketplace is updated and expanded continually so that businesses have a wider range of financial services at their disposal. Currently, APIs are available across specific product verticals and use cases enable services that include payments, accounts, lending, wallets and rewards. More specialised interfaces like the Insurance API let fintech companies participate in this competitive field.

The Nedbank Personal Loans API is particularly popular, because of the convenience with which your customers can apply for a Nedbank loan to pay for online purchases as part of the checkout journey. This hassle-free credit application and approval can be completed in as few as 10 minutes, allowing customers to pay for their purchases easily.

An added feature that simplifies loan applications and payments is the ability to generate a QR code that customers can scan to pay at the tillpoint.

As part of the peer-to-peer ecosystem, the Wallet API gives your customers the ability to send and receive cash digitally. This has been implemented with great success by TaxiPay, which offers commuters a safe, cashless payment experience.

And if you have a loyalty rewards programme, our Rewards API can help you expand its scale and reach, because it allows Greenbacks members to convert their Greenbacks into your rewards points.

What’s needed to integrate an API?

Despite offering unprecedented convenience, the technical requirements to implement an API into your operations successfully can be quite demanding.

When first engaging with us, we will conduct a vetting process to ensure you have the necessary skills to run the APIs successfully on an ongoing basis. We will also need to be assured that your organisation is the right fit in terms of your financial resources, brand recognition and customer segment base, and that the use cases fit the product capability.

An API might offer some shortcuts to business growth, but it is hardly a plug-and-play solution that you implement once and forget about. However, you won’t have to walk this path alone, as our API team works closely with you to ensure your integration is optimised for success.

Our API team is on standby to help you explore API opportunities. Reach out today.