More Banks See Value In Faster Payments And APIs, Finds ACI Worldwide

A new survey by ACI Worldwide and Ovum found evidence that financial institutions (FIs) are more willing to open up their data via API and are embracing real-time payments initiatives.

The report, published on Monday (April 30), found nearly three-quarters of banks surveyed (73 percent) said they would be willing to open up data to third-party developers via API.

Titled “2018 Global Payments Insight Survey: Retail Banking,” the survey also found that the percentage of banks that are investing in real-time payments solutions doubled over the last year, with 28 percent adding that they plan to make future investments. The percentage of banks that expect real-time payments to increase revenues also increased by 60 percent in the last year, researchers noted.

ACI Worldwide and Ovum found significant increases in the percentage of FIs that have a clear strategy to develop APIs, with researchers noting that European banks are in the lead, with 92 percent of institutions in the region having an API strategy in place. They’re followed by 86 percent of banks in Asia and 82 percent of banks in the Americas.

“The dramatic change in attitudes toward both open banking and real-time payments in just one year is telling,” said ACI Worldwide Head of Real-Time Payments Craig Ramsey in a statement. “The big takeaway here is that real-time payments and open banking are set to reshape the competitive landscape, and banks should stay open to the potential new revenue streams and deepened relationships that will be brought to both consumers and merchants.”

“The results of the study highlight important steps that all retail banks should consider to ensure that they are prepared for current challenges and future opportunities,” added Kieran Hines, Ovum’s head of industries. “Real-time payments and open banking initiatives have the potential to bring fundamental change to the retail banking value chain and must be viewed as true opportunities for service enhancement and transformation.”