Security and compliance among concerns of banks in granting API access to fintechs

[SINGAPORE] Security and compliance concerns are top of the list when Singapore’s brick-and-mortar banks decide whether to grant fintechs Application Programming Interface (API) access to the financial data, particularly that of the banks’ small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SME) clients.

DBS, OCBC and UOB told The Business Times that they provide API access to only certain fintech platforms. BT understands that a critical mass of customers is needed before API access is considered, and that some banks provide this access for free to some platforms by bearing the costs of maintaining the API.

APIs are sets of protocols that allow for different software programs to talk and exchange data.