API Standards User

Discuss, develop, partner, launch

This registration type is designed for organisations that want to use our API standards with other registered Standards Users. Being a Standards User gives your organisation the opportunity to partner, shape the future of API standards, reduce duplication of effort and accelerate innovation.

Standards Users can be either financial institutions that issue bank accounts to their customers (API Providers) or organisations that want to use standardised API endpoints provided by registered API Providers (Third Parties).

Benefits

In terms of partnering and using the standards, registered Standards Users can:

• Use the API standards with other registered Standards Users through bilateral agreements.
• Use an optional template to create the bilateral agreements.
• Access, comment and contribute to all lifecycle versions of API standards in Confluence.
• View and input into code specifications of API standards via GitHub.
• Use our sandbox, powered by Glueware's Open Banking Accelerator, to test and develop innovations.
• Have their business development contact details available to other registered Standards Users in a secure area of our website for discussing partnering opportunities.

In addition, Standards Users:

• Have input into the API Council and the work programme.
• Have access to API Council meeting agendas and minutes through the API Centre website.
• Can have up to two representatives on both the Business and Technical Working Groups.
• Can be invited to special ad hoc working group sessions.

How to become a Standards User

1. Check you meet either the API Provider criteria or Third Party criteria.
2. Register your interest online.
3. We’ll get in touch to discuss your needs and provide more information, including an indicative annual fee.
4. If you decide to proceed we’ll send you an application form.
5. Your completed application is considered by the Chief Executive of Payments NZ.
6. If approved, you’ll be sent the terms and conditions to sign and an invoice for the annual fee. 
7. Once these steps are complete and payment has been received, you’ll be a registered Standards User.
8. Our onboarding team will provide you with the necessary system login credentials and help you to get started.

Annual fees

The annual fee for Standards User registration is based on an organisation's size, determined by company turnover or a Bulk Electronic Clearing System Participant’s net interchange volume. We’ll discuss the fees with you on application.

More about partnering

To deliver a new or enhanced consumer product or service to market using the functionality enabled by our standardised APIs, Third Parties will need to enter into a bilateral agreement with an API Provider. However, before an API Provider can enter into this agreement with Third Parties, they will need to undertake their own due diligence. This includes Know Your Client (KYC), Anti Money Laundering (AML) checks and risk management assessments. Both parties will then need to agree on the terms with which the standardised APIs offered by the API Provider can be accessed and used by Third Parties.

To facilitate our API Standards Users entering into partnerships, we’ve developed an optional bilateral agreement template that can be used by anyone. The template includes drafting options for key commercial terms and also general legal terms. Some of these terms may not be suitable for all arrangements, but parties can choose to tailor the template to meet their organisation’s own internal bilateral agreement requirements.

We are currently undertaking a programme of work with the aim of streamlining partnering, which will enable faster bilateral partnerships to be formed between our registered Standards Users.