Even without regulatory pressure, the Swiss financial centre is turning to the topic of open banking in a client-oriented manner and with a focus on security. In the meantime, a first, uniform API standard for payment transactions is available both as a concept (SFTI) and as an implementation (b.Link). An explanatory and more detailed white paper is now available – a further important step towards new, innovative services for bank customers.
Some time ago, the Swiss professional association SFTI already published initial proposals for the standardization of banking APIs. In the meantime, the compatibility of these APIs with the corresponding services of the b.Link platform of SIX has also been ensured. Based on the usefulness of these work results, SFTI will use an example scenario to show the prospects opened up by API standardization. This whitepaper on multibanking is now published on the website of the working group.
In recent months, various financial institutions have presented interesting multibanking solutions. However, these approaches focus on the corporate customer segment and there – with the exception of the b.Link platform – on companies that use so-called ERP systems from software houses such as SAP to manage their business processes (capital, personnel, means of production).
For large companies, ERP-based multibanking solutions (keyword: EBICS) are certainly a significant step forward. But already for smaller companies, the requirement of an ERP environment is a demanding hurdle that becomes an insurmountable obstacle for private customers. In addition, the transmission and processing of payment transaction data is delayed. Private customers today have the right to receive an up-to-date financial overview at any time via an e-banking app, for example, and to be able to initiate transactions.
This is where the Multibanking White Paper comes in, which mainly looks at API-based scenarios that can be implemented promptly for all customer segments within the framework of online solutions. The paper starts with an explanation of the basic concepts, followed by an analysis of various surveys on customer needs and a presentation of key aspects of multi-banking. An overview of a wide range of applications is used to demonstrate the wide range of services that a multi-banking solution can cover. Finally, a PoC (proof of concept) is outlined in the sense of an operationalization.
The main objective of this white paper is to support the Swiss Financial Centre in developing and implementing open banking concepts. Banks such as FinTechs should be made easier to launch multibanking projects in a controlled manner from a professional perspective and to develop them successfully to market maturity. SFTI is curious about the first results.
About SFTI Common API
The Common API working group is an initiative of the Swiss professional association SFTI (Swiss Fintech Innovations). In this association, renowned banks and insurance companies have joined forces with other important players in the Swiss financial centre to address central issues of their industries with a holistic approach to innovation. The conceptual preparatory work for the creation of a cross-sector and broadly coordinated interface standard is being bundled in the Common API working group (common-api.ch).
Contact: office@swissfintechinnovations.ch