Q&A on the emergence and importance of the API

by CO-OP Financial Services

CO-OP recently sat down with Amanda Smith, CO-OP’s Manager of Emerging Products, to discuss the evolution and impact of Application Programming Interfaces (API) in the mobile banking landscape.

Other industries are already realizing the benefits of expanding customer value through seamless integration. For example, Uber has an API that allows you to arrange for a ride by pressing a button within the Open Table app. And Walgreen’s has enlisted the help of an API from the fitness company Qardio to build loyalty by rewarding customers to track their health metrics.

Now it’s time for credit unions to seize the opportunity to capitalize on the ease and convenience APIs offer. The following interview provides an overview of APIs and how CO-OP is developing solutions to suit a variety of needs.

Q: How have mobile trends evolved over the past two to three years?

A: The first place I go is to mobile banking. It was largely a transactional platform. I see that evolving and becoming a holistic engagement platform. Expanding to more product features and wallet programs. Omni-channel is cliché, but it’s meaningful. If you think about the last 15 years, online banking was the way credit unions interacted. Now they have to take that experience and cross multiple platforms and all digital channels. That will require a lot of integration and more engagement.

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