TRENDING: APIs Bring FIs Back In The B2B Game

Old and new tech are both coming into play in B2B API.

The ever-changing value of bitcoin has been making headlines, and delivering and dashing investors’ dreams along the way. And recently, B2B API players have been tuned in, paying close attention to the cryptocurrency’s rising and falling star. But, more than just watching the cryptocurrency’s value slide up and down, players in the space have increasingly been exploring its underlying blockchain technology — and what that tech could do for B2B payment processing.

At the other end of the tech scale, though, other players in the space are bringing value by providing adjustable APIs that can be manipulated to work well with older systems.

In the January edition of the B2B API Tracker, a FI.SPAN collaboration, PYMNTS examines the latest news in the space: from blockchain’s applications for B2B payment transactions and data tracking to new developments in the quest to improve cross-border transactions.

Around the B2B API world:

In a bustling global economy, business payments need to fly far — and fast. Major players are working to provide the jet fuel to satisfy that demand by putting their focus on getting payments across borders more quickly. That includes Visa, which recently announced that a group of American and Asian businesses had joined its Visa B2B Connect pilot program, aimed at facilitating B2B payments around the globe.

Similarly, MineralTree is bringing WesternUnion’s international business payment services and other capabilities to its platform under a new partnership. Meanwhile, Payment Rails released an API and payment platform to support business payments to more than 220 countries.

And, around the globe, whether motivated by the attention paid to bitcoin or some other factor, major players are taking a hard look at blockchain. PwC’s financial services blockchain leader Grainne McNamara, for one, recently outlined her expectations for blockchain tech’s financial applications in 2018. Meanwhile, Mastercard launched a blockchain API designed to let banks and merchants link their customers to a payment solution and bring greater cross-border payment efficiency.

To find more on these stories, along with the rest of the latest headlines from around the B2B API space, check out this month’s News and Trends section.

A digital U.S. dollar?

Despite the recent rise in bitcoin’s profile — and that of its fellow cryptocurrency — some leaders like nanopay CEO and founder Laurence Cooke are focused on a whole different kind of digital money. Cooke recently said he expects to see an even greater rise in cryptocurrency, but he’s not talking about privately mined bitcoins.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Cooke discussed his prediction of a central bank-issued digital currency and what it would take for FinTechs to serve those needs, his company’s approach to supporting B2B cross-border payments and making its API accessible — even to banks and companies with older, inflexible systems.

To read the story, along with the latest B2B API headlines and trends, and for rankings of more than 40 top providers, download the Tracker.

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To download the latest edition of the PYMNTS.com B2B API Tracker, fill out the fields below and click the Download button.

About the Tracker

The PYMNTS.com B2B API Tracker, a FI.SPAN collaboration, serves as a monthly framework for the space, providing coverage of the most recent news and trends, along with a provider directory highlighting the key players contributing to the B2B API ecosystem.