How to Put Open APIs into Practice for Smart Cash Management

“What organizations should pay particular attention to when integrating open APIs is the flexibility of the banking partner,” says Björn Zaksek, Cash Management Product Expert at RBI. “Whether clients have developed their own treasury systems, use a provider, or are connected via major software providers such as SAP, our service works with virtually any setup.” As with all channels, seamless integration into client systems is key when it comes to open APIs. “APIs are a game-changing technology because they are open, data-agnostic, and can be deeply integrated into systems,” says the expert. “Many clients use our APIs to integrate banking functions directly into their own cash management platforms; integration into treasury management systems (TMS) is also a classic use case. But the great thing about APIs is their flexibility – we’ve even had a customer who integrated them into their customer relationship management system (CRM).”

The real-time capability enabled by open APIs is particularly crucial in cash management. “A clear strength of RBI is our ability to process payments and status updates in real time via our network of banks across various countries in the CEE region, subject to local cut-off times. While other banks may have similar country coverage or comparable technical capacity, we can combine both and offer our clients these advantages from a one-stop shop.”

“We are one of the exclusive member banks of SAP Multi-Bank Connectivity (MBC), and this deep system integration brings clients several advantages,” says the expert. API connections are thus possible directly from the system and are more cost-effective, as the connection is already pre-installed. “We work closely with SAP. This allows us to improve and integrate important processes for our mutual clients.”

“We develop specialized APIs for institutional clients such as banks, payment service providers, and other financial institutions,” says Björn Zaksek. These APIs meet specific technical requirements and support industry-specific data formats for financial institutions. These solutions will initially be available for Austrian accounts. “In general, APIs enable not only comprehensive reporting but also the exchange and processing of complex data artifacts within the API channel,” says the expert. “This development is based on concrete feedback from our clients, so we are very closely aligned with actual market needs.”

“From a strictly technical perspective, the APIs can be activated relatively fast,” says Björn Zaksek. However, several requirements must first be met on the client side. Among other things, high security standards must be adhered to, for example by providing security certificates. “A clearly defined onboarding process – including pre-sales, identifying actual customer needs, contract signing, technical configuration, and testing – ensures a smooth implementation.” Regulatory requirements such as account opening, compliance, and KYC remain unchanged.

After implementation, clients benefit from fast data availability, optimized processes, deeper system integration, high data transparency, and diverse reporting options. “We are continuously working on a roadmap to expand our API functionalities, e.g. by integrating additional countries, fintech companies, and features such as direct debits via APIs.”