Corporate banking APIs

Introduction to corporate banking APIs

An API (Application Programming Interface) allows two software systems to interact with each other. Increasingly, banks are offering proprietary APIs that give companies programmatic, real-time access to their banking services. These 'premium' APIs differ from open banking or PSD2 APIs in that banks usually charge a fee for their use and they are specifically designed to support sophisticated financial and treasury operations.

To see how corporate banking APIs compare to open banking and other connectivity methods, read our full guide to bank connectivity.

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How corporate banking APIs work

What distinguishes banking APIs is their ability to handle real-time transaction processing. When a payment is initiated, the API is triggered to process the transaction, validate customer credentials, and update account balances, often completing these actions in less than a second.

Although bank APIs do not follow a single standard, they often utilize ISO 20022 for message exchanges. Depending on the API's maturity and the quality of the bank’s documentation, establishing and testing a connection can require minimal coordination with the bank, enabling quicker onboarding and implementation.

Revolut, for example, offers a premium corporate API to business customers. By integrating with Revolut’s API, Atlar can securely process customer account data in real time. Atlar customers can access this data and make payments through the Atlar dashboard, even automating payments with workflows that integrate their own applications.

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Pros and cons of corporate banking APIs

Integrating and maintaining an API connection requires engineering expertise, but if the API is well-documented, the process can be quick. The primary advantage of APIs is that they allow companies to manage their finances in real time, rather than relying on data that is 24 or 48 hours old. This real-time access can significantly enhance short-term cash management, the quality of financial insights, and overall team and process efficiency.

APIs have the potential to revolutionize bank connectivity, provided the bank ensures their reliability. The downside of relying solely on APIs is that some banks may not support or maintain them adequately, leading to issues with downtime and missing data. For critical functions like treasury management, such reliability issues can be detrimental.

Nevertheless, as the quality of APIs improves, their support will become an increasingly important factor for companies selecting a new bank or treasury system. Modern treasury platforms like Atlar offer a significant benefit by supporting API connectivity in addition to established methods such as host-to-host, providing companies with the best of both worlds.

• Pros: A single connectivity gateway to thousands of banks, with robust security and high reliability, that may prove useful in connecting to a large number of lower-tier banks.
• Cons: A direct integration can be costly to implement and maintain, plus there are fees associated with using the network.

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How Atlar can help with corporate banking APIs

Host-to-host, EBICS, SWIFT, and APIs – different banks specialize in different connectivity options. As a company grows, you need a platform that can connect to all of them using the best method available. Host-to-host methods like SFTP often provide the most reliable, high-quality data transfer but some banks and many PSPs already offer robust, real-time APIs.

Atlar has prebuilt connections to over forty major banks globally, covering a variety of methods, and handles all implementation work on behalf of its customers. If you’re interested in learning more, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.