Page 19 - Cyber Warnings

Access would only be granted where the bank account holder has given informed consent, so if
you’re still worried about your banking data being accessible via an open platform, it is possible
to opt out.

Therefore, it is safe to say that safe that the use of APIs will continue to grow, particularly given
that the UK government wants our financial institutions to use them and even uses open access
APIs themselves to give anyone who is interested access to their own departments’ data sets
via the launch of data.gov.uk.

The increased use of APIs is in many ways a good thing too. Software or websites being able to
use the data and functionality of other software and websites helps to create a quicker and more
fluid browsing experience for users.

Furthermore, the government is now pushing for banks to use open API, which is very good, as
if nothing else, the implementation of an open API should make the security of the platform your
data is held on even better, and these better security measures should also spread to other
industries.

Finally, open access APIs will also help to make the level of competition among banks even
higher for you as a consumer, and the government then looks for other industries to also do the
same, your choices as a consumer should improve in other areas too.

About The Author

David is Head of Operations at the payment gateway and merchant
services provider Total Processing. Prior to joining Total Processing in
February 2016, David spent over two and a half years at the merchant
services provider Axcess Merchant Services having previously sent over
nine years in a variety of roles at the banking group HSBC.

He lives in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire in Great Britain. David can be
reached online on Twitter @davidmidgley4 and at our company website
https://www.totalprocessing.com/.

19 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine October 2016 Edition
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