How we’re leading Aotearoa’s open banking future
An open data revolution is underway which will impact our everyday lives for the better. Open banking, the sharing of account data and making payments through APIs, is part of this. And what’s unfolding will eventually go further than banking, into other sectors like telco and energy.
Standardisation and protocols will ensure fast, secure and user-friendly data sharing, that benefits all of us. That’s where the API Centre comes in.
The API Centre
Working with the industry (from banks to startups) the API Centre is co-designing Aotearoa’s open banking future by creating the framework that will ensure fast, secure, user-friendly data sharing – for all of us.
There are many open banking models around the world. What we’ve created, and continue to develop, is a fit-for-purpose framework for Aotearoa. This framework creates a world-class foundation for our businesses to provide leading, cost-effective products and services and give consumers confidence in how their data is accessed and shared.
The future we’re creating will power increased competition that will empower Kiwi financial wellbeing.
A bit of background
Aotearoa’s payments industry has recognised the 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 standards initiative, Payments NZ was asked to set up and manage the API Centre on behalf of the industry. The vision was that the centre would develop and publish API standards and pave the way for banks and third parties to form partnerships so they can deliver open banking innovation for Kiwi.
The foundational work for the API Centre was investigated and brought to life under Payments NZ’s Payments Direction strategic programme. The API Centre was launched in May 2019 with a broad mandate to connect the industry and facilitate work that would enable standardised API-related payments innovation to be delivered to Kiwi.
We share more about the background of this early work to establish the API Centre in 2019 in a paper called Our open banking journey.
And you can learn more about the design of the centre on the API Centre model page.
Join the API Centre
There are a range of ways you can get involved with the API Centre. You can subscribe to receive email updates, or join the centre for closer involvement with the standards. Individuals that join as a Community Contributor get free access to our sandbox and organisations that join as a Standards User can also use the standards in partnership with other registered Standards Users.
In this section
API Centre model
Learn about the API Centre’s service model and how it was developed by the industry.
Read moreAPI Council
Learn about the membership and responsibilities of the API Council and its independent committee.
Read moreAPI Business Group
Get an overview of this group’s responsibilities and how its members are appointed.
Read moreAPI Technical Group
Find out what this team of technical experts does and how they are appointed.
Read more