Tribe Payments is first issuer processor to launch Open Banking APIs

Tribe Payments, an issuer/acquirer processor and payment technology provider, today launched Open Banking APIs in partnership with Open Banking Europe. Tribe is the first issuer/processor to allow Tribe’s bank and fintech clients to harness the power of Open Banking without developing their own APIs. On one side, Tribe’s Open Banking APIs allow bank and fintech customers to initiate and permission data and payment requests within their existing online or mobile payment flows, and on the other side the APIs connect TPPs (Third Party Providers) with Tribe’s clients to process that request.

Research by Tribe recently found that Open Banking is regarded as the most important financial services technology today by fintech leaders. Over 2 million customers in the UK are now using Open Banking in some form (OBIE, 2020). However, the operational complexity and high cost of developing Open Banking APIs has been a major barrier to entry for many service providers. Tribe’s APIs allow banks and fintechs to harness Open Banking without the need for large scale investment or in-house tools.

Tribe’s Open Banking APIs are split into two groups:

• Initiating request for payment: APIs offer extended permissions to initiate payment or data requests from banks or TPPs. When a payment request is initiated, the customer of the bank or fintech is able to authorise and complete the payment within the bank or fintech’s existing payment flow to not interrupt the user experience. Tribe partners that use its digital banking product will also have all this information displayed inside their own wallet to have a clear view of their finances.

• Inbound processing of TPP request: APIs allow TPPs to connect to Tribe’s clients and initiate requests for payment or information after being permissioned by the bank or fintech’s customer. This will communicate directly with Tribe’s Isaac platform to give TPPs the relevant data and payment information. Tribe has partnered with Open Banking Europe to enable TPP verification so Tribe clients and their customers can rest assured that they only receive requests from registered TPPs.

“Open Banking promised to create competition in financial services and make way for a new wave of consumer-oriented products,” said Alex Reddish, Chief Commercial Officer at Tribe Payments. “However, it has been difficult for fintechs to embrace it because of the investment and resource required in developing APIs. Tribe has now done the hard work so that others can use Open Banking for payments without needing to develop APIs themselves. The APIs will help create a new level playing field, driving competition and igniting innovation, just as Open Banking set out to do.”