Adopting open application program interfaces is a practical way for credit unions to give members faster, more convenient access to funds, financial resources and payment vehicles – and successfully combat nontraditional financial players, according to several experts.

“In providing the payments engine for credit unions, the open API really gives credit unions the ability to control their destiny and provide a consistent member experience across multiple devices,” Marcell King, chief revenue officer for the Rocky Hill, Conn.-based digital payment provider Payveris, said.

Open APIs also allow financial institutions to accelerate the innovation of new, payments-related products and services, he said.

King explained Payveris gives financial institutions the ability to provide payment services through any device or application, whether it's in-house, like their digital banking service, or external, such as a business accounts payable or debt consolidation tool.

In the past, experiences built specifically for the desktop did not translate smoothly to mobile banking, he noted.

“The great thing about an API is that it can connect to a screen built for the desktop or a mobile device and also allows speed to innovation because it does not confine you to a specific form factor,” King added.

In addition, an open API provides flexibility across multiple areas within the institution and does not limit users to just one use case. For example, for a pay by photo service, Payveris created an API that integrates into the institution's overall payments engine. This allows users to capture the details of a bill using their smartphones, store the payee information in the engine, and access that information from their desktop or smartphone.

The $1.7 billion, Richland, Wash.-based Gesa Credit Union implemented Payveris' platform three years ago as part of an omnichannel strategy designed to unify its money movement platform.

“We were looking for a platform that had an integrated bill pay, A2A and P2P solution,” Gesa CIO/COO Raj Bandaru explained.

Payveris supplied Gesa with its latest technology platform, which touts an open API architecture.

“The goal was to consume the money movement widgets where it made sense. We were also looking for a device agnostic technology platform at a reasonable price point,” Bandaru noted.

Gesa observed a few key results and benefits after implementing the platform.

“We have the same look and feel, and feature functionality within our online and mobile channels,” Bandaru said. “With the good funds model, our overall fraud in this space has been significantly reduced. We have good member experiences with this product, and from a technology standpoint, it is relatively easy to maintain and operate.”

The platform offers one other benefit, according to Gesa.

“We have a voice at the table when it comes to product roadmap and improvements, and the folks at Payveris are very receptive,” he said.

Payveris' platform integrates to a credit union's online or mobile banking system. An open API enables the platform to connect to these environments in a standardized, transparent manner, allowing the credit union to deliver a full range of payment services through a single, unified platform. It can also drive connections to other platforms and services, such as those that enable digital and business banking, if needed.

“There are two APIs in play,” King said. “One connects to the system that accesses account balances and money, and then we add value in the middle by providing another set of APIs to move money out of the account to facilitate payments and provide a superior member experience. That's the value that we add.”

King added, “Once they've installed the platform and we have that connectivity to the core, they can extend those use cases to other services.”

That includes integrating bill pay and P2P, creating a more unified experience, he said.

Cost savings and efficiencies also come with an open API platform, King noted, as it reduces the overhead cost associated with running multiple, standalone systems. The API also gives credit unions easier access to data compared to disparate systems.

Payveris' secure cloud-based platform supports a range of digital payment and money movement services, including electronic bill payment, presentment and management, P2P transfers, external account transfers and business payments.

“With our API, not only can we develop applications – our partners or credit union clients can also develop applications on the API. It allows financial institutions to participate in an ecosystem they might not otherwise be able to participate in with traditional closed systems,” King said.

Adopting API-based technology comes with challenges, however, starting with making sure everyone at the credit union understands it.

“Especially smaller credit unions, they may not understand the capabilities and use cases of what APIs can do,” King said.

In addition, credit unions must decide if they have the resources to develop their own APIs in-house or if they want to outsource the process to a third party.

Without specifically mentioning Payveris, the CEO for the Columbus, Ohio-based, $3.7 billion Corporate One Federal Credit Union said he takes issue with the way many core providers handle APIs.

“Core systems have locked out credit unions from being creative and adopting new tools on the front-end that interface with them,” Corporate One President/CEO Lee Butke said. “If a core is tying them to that interface engine, every new product or service has to have its own unique integration implementation activity.”

Keith Riddle, SVP and chief product management officer for Corporate One, explained, “Core providers have issued message sets in API form that credit unions can use to have third-party providers tie into. The challenge, in some cases, is that there can be some prohibitive integration costs for aligning to the message set core providers present. Some cores are more progressive in providing the message set than others. Some of the cores are more legacies and are more dated.”

Butke claimed the APIs might be open, but attempting to create a singular interface comes at a cost for credit unions.

“Every darn time, the credit unions have to pay for it,” Butke said.

To make matters worse, Butke added, the interface connects to data credit unions already own. Plus, the credit union may have to integrate information located outside the core.

“They can open their system up, but can we interface to it and what limitations are there?” he asked. “Customer relationship files are not always from the core.”

Butke added there are concerns around how to interface the system with each and every vendor and installation the credit union works with.

“If we can work as credit unions to blow that paradigm up, we think that is really critical,” he said. “Can you imagine how we can turn the credit union movement on its head by saying, this is our credit union's common set of APIs in front of the core? Now we can say, 'Go develop, we'll invite you into our ecosystem.'”

Instant Insights /

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