siliconindia | | July 20198Sujatha believes that technology will transform the way banking will be conducted, working closely with business to deliver solutions in an agile and reliable manner is her passionBy Sujatha Mohan, Head - Digital & New Initiatives, RBL Bankever before has the Indian banking sector evolved as much as it has in the past decade, and neither has it been as customer-friendly as it is today. The latter is because the sector has been integrating new technologies, core platforms and government-enabled services to make banking a low-cost, highly efficient and seamless experience for customers. In recent years, best-in-class digital banking and the thrust on financial inclusion has brought nearly every banking activity to the customer's doorstep; in fact, literally at one's fingertips. The banking and financial services industry has also seen an explosion of several alternative non-financial institutions, including financial technology companies, or fintechs, as they are popularly known. The fintechs arrived on the scene at a time when both the use of smartphones and the proliferation of mobile & data were increasing, resulting in an effortless adoption of digital banking platforms. These companies were geared to provide a gamut of solutions to meet the needs of retail, commercial and corporate customers. However, there was just one problem: there was a need for a unified system to integrate various banking applications.This is where API Banking comes-in. API (application programming interface) is an endpoint to which one system can send information or a request for information and receive relevant and specific information in return. In simple words, APIs allow enterprises to integrate banking systems, third-party tools, payment systems, public utilities and content systems to provide a differentiated experience to customers, offering the entire gamut of banking functions on an API stack.Today, numerous enterprises use one another's APIs to create a valuable upshot. The best example of this model is the universal use of Google Maps APIs on the Uber platform, which has transformed the transportation industry overnight and introduced numerous conveniences for road travellers. While the above in a way simplifies the concept of API, Banking on a platform has several other elements that are driven by market forces. These primarily include the shared economy structure, data-oriented economy, and need for greater personalization by customers. Also, in a country like India, the need for a physical and distributed presence has not been completely done away with. NIN MY OPINIONAPI BANKING ­ A NEW FRONTIER IN FINANCIAL SERVICES
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