PSD2 – Really? Where the hell is the Open API?

New Open API File for the BerlinGroup’s API definition available

Today we, from OpenPSD,  are proud to publish our updated version of the Open API definition for the BerlinGroup’s PSD2 API definition. We are getting closer to where we should be, but we still have to expect major changes. In July very likely a version 1.2 of the BerlinGroup API specification will be published, what makes an amendment of the corresponding OpenAPI (Swagger) definition necessary again. At the BerlinGroup API Implementation Group more and more participants are joining forces, but what me still worries most:

Smile if you can

We have created a regulation forcing the banks to open their doors, but the regulator has forgotten ‘to provide the keys’. Even if we try to standardise the API within the BerlinGroup, every bank is still ‘allowed’ to implementing technically whatever follows the laws  – A nightmare for every developer. If I consider Germany’s past we are much farer away from Open Banking than we have been the last 20 years with HBCI and FinTS.  Besides we are not allowed to using FinTS anymore. Currently I’m in charge to implementing a  kind of TPPs Multibanking behaviour in a new core system.   This is a kind of ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ from a technical perspective. I know the banks have to provide doors to enter their rooms, but everybody provides different keys. To use these keys in a sensible manner is  nearly impossible, today. Hope for the future:  Maybe the BerlinGroup API becomes a PSD2 part as well.

The ‘Open’ of Open Banking API – the first real open Banking API for download

PSD2 requires the banks to open the bank via APIs

PSD2 doesn’t say how the API from a technical perspective should look like. Based on this approach a lot of different implementations have been deployed within the last months. This trend makes it really hard for a developer to interface with many banks. From this perspective the PSD2 standard is much less open than the 20 years old FinTS standard. FinTS relies on only one technical specification.  Code once use with every bank. This new technical diversity formed a new trend of building Fintech Aggregation companies to providing the developer with one technical API. But aggregation has to be paid and is proprietary either. Finally an Open API is becoming a Closed API (again).

BerlinGroup NextGen API Spec

The BerlinGroup tries to changing this by providing one technical API specification. Additionally the BerlinGroup NextGen Implementation also aims at supporting this one interface approach by providing technical solutions or at least concrete specifications for tests and test servers. Florian and I are member of the BerlinGroup Implementation. We are close to the current developments. This Open Source Swagger API Technical Spec based on the BerlinGroup specification is one first result. What we try to achieve with the  OpenPSD initiative is to building software based on what we are learning and defining at BerlinGroup. We would like to build OpenSource software which reflects our activities at BerlinGroup. Everybody should benefit from OpenPSD and nobody should have to pay for ‘Open’. The ‘Open’ of Open Banking! Feel free to contribute, just drop us a mail!