ProgrammableWeb's Most Clicked, Shared and Talked About APIs of 2019: Payments, Banking, Blockchain and Finance

In this segment of the Most Clicked, Shared and Talked About APIs added to ProgammableWeb in 2019, we cover APIs in the Financial sectors. API categories included in this article are Banking, Stocks, Insurance, Payments, Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Blockchain.

News about APIs in the financial technology sector this past year focused on continued interest in open banking, algorithmic trading, customer experience, expense tracking, branded and personalized finance solutions, banking security, payments standards, financial planning, and breaches.

The insurance technology sector also continued to make advances, with APIs at the forefront of the changes.

API news regarding Payments services revolved around new or improved developer tools that were launched from Stripe, Western Union, Google, Dwolla, Twilio, Square, PayPal, Pine Labs, Acquired.com, Visa, TransferMate, Mastercard, and Visa.

And finally, digital currency is obviously still on the rise, as more than 190 Cryptocurrency APIs were added to ProgrammableWeb during 2019! Below, we list a few notable ones in this article, along with highlights from the other financial categories.

The Bank of Ireland has adopted the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) standard for compliance with PSD2/CMA regulation. Bank of Ireland Dynamic Client Registration API in one of several APIs offered and provides access to services for the Bank of Ireland to register a client and receive client credentials.

Kony provides digital banking and mobile application development services. The Kony Streaming API returns live stream data such as live stock market prices, as well as other information such as humidity and temperature sensor data.

Tinkoff Bank is a full-service digital bank with headquarters in Moscow, Russia. The Tinkoff API enables access to banking-related information in applications. The API can be used to retrieve orders, portfolio data, market information, and operations.

Nordic API Gateway allows users to connect to all Nordic banks. With this API, developers can connect an application to users' bank accounts from all Nordic banks. The API can be used for account aggregation, transaction categorization and new payment initiatives that will benefit both you and your customers.

Bank of America makes APIs available on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch CashPro API Developer Portal. Bank of America Payments API retrieves payment initiations, debtor account, scheme name, currency, institution, payment type, and unstructured remittance. It also initiates a single payment request, deletes a PayPal payment prior to the final settlement, obtains the status of a payment request, and responds to a US RTP Request for Information message.

Nedbank is a financial services firm based in Africa. Nedbank Rewards API offers access to the Nedbank Greenbacks rewards that can be redeemed via a website or application.

Silvergate Bank is a financial firm based in San Diego, CA that focuses on innovation for cryptocurrency startups. The Silvergate Bank API retrieves banking and digital currency features in JSON, text JSON, application XML, and text XML representations. Use the API to manage accounts, customers, transfers, payments, plus get loan balance and more.

Nationwide offers insurance and financial services across the United States. It provides a collection of APIs that enable developers to integrate its services into third-party applications. Included is the Nationwide Telematics Connected Car API which provides connected car functionality for external partners that interact with Nationwide Telematics. Post and manage pre-qualified offers along with their related scores and discounts via this API.

HazardHub supports services for insurance with geospatial hazard risk data. HazardHub API enables users to access property risk data about earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods, tsunamis, sinkholes, superfund sites, and more based on addresses, latitude, longitude inputs.

Screenshot: HazardHub

Qover is an Insurance-as-a-Service platform that offers insurance products from open APIs. The company is based in Brussels, Belgium. Qover provides three APIs: Home, Motor, and LifeStyle (which includes jobless coverage). The Qover API can be integrated into any digital ecosystem and enables users to sell insurance to customers.

Currency Quake is a free currency strength meter. The Currency Quake API can be used to acquire the statistical strength or weakness of the 8 major currencies in the foreign exchange (Forex) market. Information is derived by comparing 28 currency pairs and identifying the biggest movements in price.

Enable apps to compare currencies with this API. Image: Currency Quake

IXN Tech provides insurance industry developers with InsurTech platforms. The IXN Tech Life Quotes API provides access to Life Insurance Quoting. It allows users to retrieve a list of quotes for specified criteria, retrieve the details of a previously ran quote and more. The IXN Tech Market Analysis API allows users to analyze current term life insurance products for carriers, IMO's, BGA's, and more.

Clyde is an insurance marketplace. The Clyde API returns insurance data covering consumer electronics, furniture, jewelry, appliances, bicycles, mobile phones, tablets, computers, TVs, sports equipment, outdoor equipment, musical instruments, and drones. The API features methods for products, GeoIP check, contract sales, orders and more.

Clyde offers insurance marketplace APIs. Screenshot: Clyde

Credit Reporting Services (CRS) is a credit reporting agency certified as a re-seller for Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. The company offers services for industries requiring credit data. The company's XML Credit Report API is available for providing credit report data.

G-Square Derivator is a financial derivative pricing and valuation tool accessible through RESTful APIs. The Derivator APIs enable users to price and analyze simple to complex derivatives. Interested developers should write to the provider for API and documentation access.

Stock News API is a simple HTTP REST API that enables users to get the latest stock news from some of the best news sources. Developers can use this API to get relevant video and article content from companies listed in the stock market. Users must register for a key in order to use this API.

Retrieve news, videos, reports about stocks with this API. Screenshot: stocknewsapi

FDICBank Data API returns bank, financial, and insurance data in JSON and CSV formats. Users can retrieve banking institution demographic and headquarter location data, plus FDIC-insured banks branches and locations and more with the API.

Square enables developers to build customized payment solutions. The Square Orders API provides a way to capture itemized details about purchases and link those details to payment information, including taxation.

Visa NextPlatform API enables developers to create, manage, and build new services with Visa cards. Developers need to contact Visa for an invitation to this beta platform.

Acquired.com provides business payment technologies. The Acquired API allows merchants to securely integrate directly into the Acquired platform. Users will need a merchant company ID and password to authenticate to the Acquired API.

Afterpay is a service for buying retail goods on credit in four equal, interest-free installments. The Afterpay API returns payment configuration data in JSON format. With the API, developers can implement amounts, orders, payment ranges, and models.

Western Union has introduced new APIs under its Western Union Business Solutions Unit. The Western Union Money Transfer API allows users to connect to the Western Union in-person and account payout network for remittance services. It can return service options and corresponding fee estimates, validate a Money Transfer transaction, create a Money Transfer transaction and more. The Western Union Partner Payments API allows partners to create orders, collect funds from customers, as well as disburse funds to customers.

Checkout.com is a platform used to process and manage payments. This platform supports more than 25 payment methods and over 150 currencies. The Checkout.com API is a REST interface that functions as a payment gateway. The Checkout.com API supports AutoCapture, 3-D Secure payments, smart routing to acquirers, and more.

Openbucks is a cash alternative to credit cards for online payments. The Openbucks API provides a way to retrieve payment data and process payments for Openbucks, an online payment service. Use it to enable transactions, retrieve a list of gift cards, get transaction details.

Screenshot: Openbucks

Ixian is a decentralized streaming platform that enables fast and secure data transmission between users. The Ixian API is utilized to manage wallet transactions, calculate fees, get balances, obtain block data, and perform client-related operations.

AuthVia is a service to make payments via a simple text message. The AuthVia API integrates text payment features so users may complete purchases over a mobile phone. Methods are available to manage users, sessions, merchants, organizations, and more. This API is listed in the Payments category.

Screenshot: AuthVia

Bit-Z is a popular digital assets trading exchange with branches in multiple countries and regions, including Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. Bit-Z Currency Market View API allows developers to get the trade summary of a symbol, the market depth of a symbol, the last trade of a symbol, trade summaries for all symbols, K-line, the list of all available currencies, the current time of the server, and the commission for trading mainstream cryptocurrencies and new cryptocurrencies.

Coinpaprika provides a cryptocurrency research platform for accessing data such as market overview, prices, charts, teams, events, coin details and more. The Coinpaprika API returns current cryptocurrency market data for coin prices, volumes, market caps, ATHs, return rates and more.

Data about a few hundred cryptocurrencies is provided by Coinpaprika API. Screenshot: Coinpaprika

Hodl Hodl is a P2P Bitcoin exchange platform. The Hodl Hodl API provides methods for creating and managing orders, payments and more. Hodl Hodl customer base includes OTC trading desks, Bitcoin wallets, and aggregators.

Xpring is an open developer platform for money. Xpring XRP is a digital asset native to the XRP Ledger. The XPRING XRP API retrieves digital currency data in JSON format to check balances, send payments, and check the status of a payment. This REST-like API works as a specification and a server for the XRP Ledger.

OpenLaw is a universal legal protocol for Blockchains. The OpenLaw API returns blockchain data for legal applications. The REST API can query, save, and change data in an OpenLaw instance. Methods are available for templates, drafts, contacts, users, community activity and more.

Paxos is a financial institution focused on building infrastructure for moving physical and cryptocurrency assets. The Paxos API allows users to build and integrate products with Paxos digital financial infrastructure. This API utilizes OAuth2 in its authorization flow and enables third parties with permission to act on behalf of Paxos customers with customer consent. It provides ways to read and manage transaction details, returns a specific Paxos-issued deposit address and more.

Request Network is an open financial network for transaction requests that includes support for blockchain, invoicing, ethereum and more. The Request Network API is a RESTful service that enables users to interact with the Request Protocol, abstracting all blockchain-related aspects. Use the API to create and manage requests. This API is running on the Rinkeby Ethereum test network.

Blockstream Satellite network broadcasts the Bitcoin blockchain for free. The Blockstream Satellite REST API allows users to create applications that broadcast messages globally using the Blockstream Satellite network. It is open for anyone to integrate the API into existing applications or build new services that can send both encrypted and unencrypted data.