Token conducts end-to-end payment with public bank APIs for CMA9

CMA9 is a group of the nine largest banks and building societies in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Reaching this milestone makes the UK the only region in the world with open and functioning Open Banking APIs.

The CMA9 consists of AIB Group (UK) trading as First Trust Bank in Northern Ireland, Bank of Ireland (UK), Barclays Bank, HSBC Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, Northern Bank Limited, trading as Danske Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Santander UK (in Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

Token was invited to participate by the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), which was set up by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2016 to deliver Open Banking. Token was able to bring together each bank’s implementation of the Open Banking APIs and reduce complexity for developers by delivering a single, unified platform for customers to connect to. Token’s self-serve testing approach also helped banks to validate that their implementation of the flexible specification appropriately supported PISP functionality including a myriad of authentication methods, optional endpoints and multi-use data fields.

The full potential of open banking can only be reached when true customer-centricity is achieved, says Token. Account holders can permit a merchant, bank or another service provider to access their account data and initiate payments, all while enjoying a much richer user experience. However, unless a business can offer this facility to all of its customers, the proposition falls flat. Token enables full interoperability between banks, merchants, and service providers via a single standardised Open Banking platform. 

Via its universal open API banking platform, Token enables banks, merchants and other third party providers (TPPs) to connect to any bank in the EU for payments and account information requests, thereby solving the integration pain being felt across the industry caused by multiple, proprietary bank APIs.

Token is a technology company with headquarters in San Francisco and offices in London and Berlin. Token’s open banking platform helps banks achieve PSD2 compliance quickly and cost-effectively, and generate new revenue streams. It also allows banks and other players in the payments ecosystem, such as merchants and payment processors, to build bank direct payment methods and data aggregation solutions for their customers. The platform raises security, and reduces fraud and disintermediation. Unlike in-house developed solutions, Token supports the same API across all banks.

Token is authorised as an AISP and as a PISP by the FCA in the UK and has passporting rights in an additional 20 countries.