NACHA and Accenture Join Forces to Create Online Community to Support Standardization of Payments in the U.S.
HERNDON, Va. (PRWEB) January 30, 2018 -- NACHA—the Electronic Payments Association’s API Standardization Industry Group (ASIG), and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) are collaborating to identify, develop and launch a community of application program interface (API) resources, including a microsite and developer portal, to support API standardization across the payments ecosystem.
The resource community will provide the financial services industry with a variety of API-related resources, including developer tools, training materials, product blogs, articles and code samples. The goal is to help the financial industry and developer community learn about and develop solutions by collaborating to ask questions, get support and share ideas.
Implementing standardized APIs is increasingly important for U.S. financial services firms as they strive to provide superior digital experiences and tailored customer offerings faster and more efficiently.
Late last year, ASIG identified 16 APIs that will have an immediate impact on the payments ecosystem and financial services industry. From the 16, the Group prioritized five for initial focus, which will help reduce risk, drive efficiencies, increase access and improve security among industry participants. The resource community will be built to support the initial APIs and will grow over time as additional APIs are identified and launched.
“To foster adoption, drive innovation and simplify integration of the APIs we’ve identified, we felt it was critical to offer the payments ecosystem tools to educate, develop, test and provide feedback,” said George Throckmorton, managing director at NACHA. “By partnering with Accenture, we’re able to offer business and technical resources via a digitally enabled platform with all the tools needed for successful deployment of APIs.”
Conrad Sheehan, a managing director in Accenture’s Payments practice, said, “We’re delighted to work with NACHA and ASIG to bring forward a comprehensive resource that will help the industry pivot toward more open and interoperable banking. This initiative will support next-generation market innovation, new operating efficiencies for industry participants and better experiences for retail, corporate and internal industry users.”
Over the next few months, ASIG and Accenture will continue development of the resource community through a number of forums, including the upcoming ASIG Meeting, which will be held Feb. 28 as part of the NACHA Payments Innovation Alliance Member Meeting, taking place Feb. 28 through March 2 in San Francisco.
For more information about ASIG and its efforts, visit https://www.nacha.org/content/api-standardization-industry-group. For more information about the ASIG/Payments Innovation Alliance Member Meeting, visit https://allianceexchange.nacha.org/events/membershipevents/sf2018.
About the API Standardization Industry Group (ASIG)
The API Standardization Industry Group (ASIG) is a diverse group of organizations and individuals working to support advancement and use of standardized APIs within the U.S. financial services industry. The Group is made up of leaders and developers from financial institutions, fintechs, businesses, service providers, standards organizations and others, all of whom have a desire to further efforts to standardize the use of APIs in the U.S. The API Standardization Industry Group is sponsored by NACHA’s Payments Innovation Alliance. For more information or to join, visit https://www.nacha.org/content/api-standardization-industry-group.
NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association
NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association is the steward of the ACH Network – one of the largest, safest and most reliable payment systems in the world. The ACH Network creates value and enables innovation by universally connecting all U.S. financial institutions, and moving money and information directly from one bank account to another. In 2016, there were 25 billion ACH payments made that moved $43 trillion. NACHA also brings together diverse organizations to develop rules and standards to benefit payments ecosystem participants, including Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) and healthcare Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). By collaborating with other standards organizations and geographies, NACHA facilitates compatibility and integration with U.S. payments. Visit nacha.org for more information.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 435,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at http://www.accenture.com.
Kendra Beasley, NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association, +1 (703) 561-3923, [email protected]
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