We’re pleased to announce v2.1 of our API standards has been released. This update builds on the work done for the v2.0 standards, which were published in May and included some great new optional functionalities for enduring payment consent and decoupled flow.
Included in this v2.1 release is an update to the Account Information standard which enables customers, with their consent, to share account balances and transaction histories across most of their online bank accounts with approved Third Party services. This now includes credit card account information. The updated standard also provides greater clarity on the existing in-scope accounts now available for customers to share, and ensures this information is offered in a standardised way.
A strong theme in the feedback we sought during the release candidate process of the v2.0 standards was it would be beneficial to include credit card information as an option. The industry felt that given the prevalence of credit card usage in New Zealand and the rich transaction history that can be obtained through these cards, the ability to share this information would be highly useful to develop new products that meet the needs and expectations of Kiwis.
Following further consultation with our API Standards Users and other key stakeholders, the API Council decided to fast track a v2.1 update, which would include broadening the scope of the Account Information API standard to have a greater range of account types including credit cards, and better define the existing in-scope accounts.
V3.0 and other developments
We’ve begun scoping work for v3.0 of both the Account Information and Payments Initiation standards, with some of the main features proposed including future-dated payments, two-way notification, and request to pay. We’re also looking into making more of the existing features within the standards mandatory to adopt.
We’re also in the process of finalising updates to our Customer Experience Guidelines to include enduring payment consent and reflect the new functionality in the v2.1 Account Information standard. Our Standards Users and Community Contributors will be notified when these guidelines have been updated.
Our API Centre register has also now gone live. The register provides a centralised service for API Standards Users to securely exchange information with each other, such as certificates, public keys, and server locations. API Standards Users require this information to connect with each other using the agreed API security standards.
Find out more
There are many ways to get involved with the work of the API Centre, either as a Standards User or Community Contributor. It’s still free to be a Community Contributor for the first 12 months, which allows individuals to get in and use our sandbox, powered by Middleware NZ, to test innovations against the standards.
If you’re unsure what level of involvement you’d like to have with the centre, feel free to contact us to find out more about the process and benefits of being part of our industry-led API standards work.