API Banking, a door opener for a new customer relationship paradigm in corporate banking

In my first two blog posts on this topic, I presented what API Banking and its “by-products”, Banking-as-a-Service and Embedded Finance, mean in the context of Corporate Banking. I also reviewed the opportunities for both the corporations and the banks servicing them which may lead to conclude that API Banking is a blessing for both. I then looked at the dark side of the coin since I believe that APIs are a highly disruptive technology and that API Banking will reshape the Financial Services industry much more than most think today, in ways that could be disastrous to the ill-prepared. In particular, the traditional relationship banking practised by corporate banks will be greatly affected by the reduced visibility, the dis-intermediation and the commoditization facilitated by standardised APIs. As a result, banks could be relegated to invisible infra-providers of commoditized products, leading to an ultra-competitive environment where even a small automated transaction can be auctioned.

In this post, I propose a few ways to minimise the risks whilst grasping the huge opportunities brought by API Banking.

See the story on Medium.