This archive report was first published on 13 July 2020.
Co-op Bank Opens APIs to Foster Innovation and Partnerships ¶
July 13, 2020
Co-op Bank has taken a significant step towards promoting partnerships and innovation among corporates, Sacco's, and SMEs by opening its APIs. This move aims to deliver a seamless customer experience and enable real-time updates.
APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are codes that allow two software programs to communicate with each other. They define the correct way for developers to request services from an operating system or other application, exposing data within different contexts and across multiple channels.
Co-op Bank's APIs, dubbed Co-opConnect, are designed to be simple and easy to use, accessible from web or mobile applications. They provide an easier and faster way of partnering with Fintechs, enabling real-time updates of payment status and delivering a seamless customer experience.
The Bank believes in co-creation and innovation that enables people, businesses, and society to grow. It aims to publish as many banking services as possible, enabling Corporate and Sacco customers to add value to their mobile apps and web services.
Co-op Bank's APIs are categorized into two main types: account information services APIs and transactional APIs. The transactional APIs feature regular banking functions, including internal funds transfer, Pesalink send to account, instant notification service, and sending money from a Co-op Bank account to an M-Pesa wallet.
The account information service APIs show the account balance as at a given time, with various balances, including cleared, booked, blocked, available, un-cleared balance, and arrears amounts. Clients can also use this feature to access their overdraft limits information.
Other features on the account information service APIs include account transaction inquiry, account mini statement, exchange rate enquiry, account validation, and status enquiry.
Before launching an innovation, Co-op Bank weighs the business needs and the prevailing market situation versus the opportunity to ensure that it meets the customer need and keeps up with the changing market trends.
Co-op Bank's APIs can be accessed by clicking on this link.
