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Catalina Arateanu, Product Owner of RBI’s API Marketplace Christian Wolf, Head of Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystems at RBI
Building an ecosystem
From regulations to partnerships via Open APIs
This double interview with RBI’s Head of Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystems, Christian Wolf, and
Product Owner of its API Marketplace, Catalina Arateanu, provides expert insights into the development of the payment service directive PSD2 from RBI’s perspective – a leading banking group operating in 14 countries in CEE including Austria. Other topics include RBI’s approach to PSD2, the benefits for customers and the importance of partnerships.
What were the main developments in 2019
regarding PSD2 in CEE?
Arateanu: If there was one thing that banks were sure about at the beginning of 2019, it was that PSD2 would come into force in mid-September. European banks were required to provide corresponding APIs for accounts, payments and the confirmation of funds. Operating in 14 markets across CEE including Austria, with the Czech Republic and Slovakia already having been ahead of the game since 2018 due
to local regulatory requirements, RBI had to ensure the compliance of all its other network banks in the EU. While many banks across the continent had to request exemptions, RBI is proud to have met all deadlines for going live with APIs in the RBI Group. RBI is also proud to be one of the European banks that are fully complying with the Berlin Group’s standards for PSD2 APIs.
What further steps do you expect in terms of PSD2?
Arateanu: Developments and improvements are still taking place with regard to PSD2. The European Banking Authority (EBA) is leading and facilitating the exchange of information in this area. We expect that clarifications and changes will continue to occur in the foreseeable future. The EBA is doing this through an API working group that consists of 30 members
including TPPs and API providers. The most recent material issued by the working group in January 2020 addressed
30 issues raised by its members. The subjects covered by
this material included the testing and wide usage of APIs, contingency measures, API performance and the use of eIDAS certificates for PSD2 purposes.
Is PSD2 a game changer? Have we already seen
its full impact on the CEE market?
Arateanu: I believe that we are still waiting to see the full impact of PSD2. The directive served as a door opener to collaboration. However, this is just the first phase of a wider change process.
The fact that bank customers can access their accounts
in other apps and initiate payments through those apps
is only one side of the coin. The other is that banks can also “consume” the regulatory APIs of other banks and provide their customers with an enhanced experience, a comprehensive overview of their finances and the ability to initiate payment from all their accounts, no matter which bank is servicing the account in question.
Who benefits most from PSD2?
Arateanu: PSD2 will lead to strong competition amongst banks to provide the best customer experience and it is clear that the customer will emerge as the winner of this competition. But what about the banks? Will they be the losers? We at RBI think that PSD2 offers great opportunities for innovative banks to increase their market shares.
Which approach to PSD2 did RBI choose?
Arateanu: Our initial response to PSD2 coming into force in each of our EU markets was the creation of seven local