About

Industry led and market driven

Some time ago, the New Zealand payments industry recognised significant benefits in having common API standards and a shared framework to support their ongoing use and development. In 2017, industry discussions led to a set of guiding principles and objectives for such a service and the subsequent creation of an independent API Centre^®.

With considerable experience in standards development, management and governance, and having facilitated the API initiative, Payments NZ was asked to set up and manage the API Centre on behalf of the industry. 

To find out more about the background of this work, read our Our 'open banking' journey.

Services

At a high level, the API Centre:

• Provides common payment-related API standards on behalf of the industry.
• Administers a development pipeline for new standards and improvements to existing standards.
• Manages the versioning and lifecycle of API standards from creation to expiry.
• Manages applications from organisations wanting to join the API Centre as a Standards User, their subsequent onboarding, use and compliance with the standards.
• Offers tools and resources to support bilateral partnering.
• Facilitates wider industry input and involvement with the standards through Community Contributor registration.
• Manages a centralised sandbox, which is available to those who have joined the centre.
• Provides a central hub through which industry stakeholders can engage.

Governance

The Payments NZ Board is responsible for the corporate governance of the API Centre. However, most of the governance responsibilities have been delegated to the API Council, which includes an independent sub-committee to deal with sensitive issues. The API Business Group and API Technical Group are directed by the API Council, which in turn receives recommendations from these two groups. 

As the provider of the service, Payments NZ is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the API Centre. Any contractual arrangements are with Payments NZ and all fees are paid to Payments NZ.

For more on the API Centre’s service model and the above groups, please see the links below.