RBC wants to increase its collaboration with external developers and accelerate the speed of innovation if its latest announcement is any indication.
The financial institution has launched an Application Programming Interface (API) developer portal called RBC Developers portal, becoming the first Canadian bank to do so.
APIs are a communication layer that allows applications to talk to other applications. Within the context of RBC, APIs enable third-party applications to gain secure access to specific data and capabilities from the company.
Once registered and approved to use the portal, it will allow “eligible external software developers, industry innovators, and clients” to access select RBC APIs so they can browse and learn, and then build, test, and deploy new applications on them.
“Across other industries we’ve seen the transformational effect of APIs,” Sumit Oberai, senior vice-president of digital technology at RBC, says in a Mar. 20 press release. “By providing external developers, industry innovators and clients with access to select RBC APIs, we have the opportunity to increase connectivity, create new tools and experiences for clients, and enable open and innovative collaboration to improve the future of banking.”
RBC is initially offering five API packages in the portal for developers to browse. Each package delivers all “the data elements, orchestration and business logic required to deliver the end to end business process.” More API packages will be added in the future.
- Credit card catalog API – Provides access to credit card rates and fees through a business oriented interface. These values are organized in terms of line of business, product family, and individual products
- Minimum down payment API – Calculates the minimum down payment required for a given purchase price of a home
- Branch locator API – Accepts postal code or keyword search term and returns the address and hours of operation of the closest branch, or a list of the closest branches
- Amortization schedule API – Calculates the number of payments associated with a mortgage amount, amortization period, interest details and payment details
- Safety deposit box inventory API – Provides safety deposit box information at a specified branch
