TransNational Rolls Out Payments API With AI-Powered Security

TransNational Payments is launching a payments application programming interface (API) for developers, the company announced on Thursday (March 1).

In a press release, TransNational revealed the launch of Pi, short for “perfect integration,” to support developers’ implementation of its payments processing solution into their own solutions.

The API was created using JSON, a JavaScript data interchange format, which, according to TransNational EVP Mark London, makes the solution “more agile, since it’s natively spoken by all web browsers and JavaScript engines, meaning any web browser or web-based technology can speak directly to the gateway.”

According to the company, the Pi API is the first JSON-based gateway that includes a fraud platform deploying machine learning and artificial intelligence able to automate the detection of potentially fraudulent processing activity. TransNational said this is key for EMV transactions, with the API facilitating chip payments that have tripped up software developers.

“Business owners were expected to adhere to these new rules and … weren’t protected if there was a dispute or if they did not dip the card versus swipe the card,” said TransNational President Jae Haas in a statement, discussing the shift from swipe to EMV payments. “It has become extremely difficult for developers to make the transition from card swipe to chip methods. The technical labyrinth you have to navigate takes extensive coding hours and a structural renegotiation. This has been a huge point of frustration.”

Transaction data is stored within the Pi API gateway, including receipts and signatures, the company added.

The API solution is the latest to boost the use of such technologies and promote data sharing in the U.S. financial services space, where open banking is beginning to grow despite a lack of regulatory requirements, like those that exist in the EU and the U.K.

Earlier this week, NACHA announced plans to combine with the Interactive Financial eXchange Forum to promote the development of APIs for banks and other financial institutions. Weeks prior, NACHA announced another collaboration with Accenture with similar goals of supporting API standardization.