Nedbank’s API Marketplace won a prestigious global award for our open banking platform, which is expanding and evolving the bank’s product offering at a rapid pace. At the 2021 Global Banking and Finance Awards, API Marketplace was named ‘Best Open Banking APIs South Africa 2021’.

The first on the continent to offer open banking

Nedbank is the first bank in Africa to successfully introduce an open-banking-aligned application programming interface (API) platform that complies with the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), a regulatory system established by the European Union.

We have embraced the opportunity of the open banking wave that has been sweeping over Europe and the United Kingdom (UK), with the view that these regulations will enter the South African banking system. We focus on enablement and innovation to deliver better client value, products and experiences to our clients and partners.

Enabling businesses to offer customers a better shopping experience

The Nedbank API Marketplace is an easy-to-use, secure offering that enables approved partners to create innovative, disruptive solutions that put the client’s user experience first. Using Nedbank’s API Marketplace, approved partners can use the bank’s data and financial capabilities to integrate with its standardised, secure, and scalable APIs.

The API Marketplace team, together with the product teams, have made significant strides in scaling the uptake and product set. The initial minimum viable product was delivered by a core team from Nedbank’s Digital Fast Lane, which included Accounts, Customer, Rewards, Payments, and Personal Loans APIs.

In 2019, this was extended to include personal loans for non-Nedbank clients, which has seen good uptake in 2020, as well as Vehicle and Asset Finance and Wallet APIs.  

Committed to helping businesses grow by improving access to APIs

API Marketplace adopted the UK’s open banking standard along with PSD2 from the outset, and the bank believes this ensures that it is well placed not just to compete in an open banking or open finance context, but also to adhere to the potential regulations from regulators and position them to innovate with FinTech and third parties in the market.

We’re looking forward to adding new products to the API Marketplace offering, extending the bank’s product offering based on demand from the market. The platform will also further evolve to cater for scale, improving the existing product features and functions as well the developer experience, which is crucial to the success of the platform.

Consider how APIs can help your business sell more

How can an API help you? Let’s say you run a car dealership with a virtual showroom on the internet. You can allow your customers to apply for finance for a car that you are selling on that online showroom directly on your website with a Nedbank Vehicle Asset Finance API.

This API, once integrated into your website, communicates with MFC, a division of Nedbank, using bank-grade encryption. Your customers will appreciate being able to apply directly from your website, and this sort of convenience might be just the thing that secures the sale.

See more APIs available through the Nedbank API Marketplace.