The banking consortium JETCO announced that 13 banks and popular e-service providers, including OpenRice, Price.com.hk and MoneyHero.com.hk, have signed on to JETCO APIX, Hong Kong’s first open API (application programming interface) exchange platform, that will commence operation in January 2019.

This initiative signals that the industry is responding well the initiatives from the HKMA to push for open banking in Hong Kong

JETCO APIX aims to provide easy and seamless connectivity for businesses across industries via API integrations and a highly secure platform for them to collaborate and create new services that will help enhance customer experience.

Banks and other API providers can upload and distribute product and service APIs on the platform, while third-party service providers (TSPs) and developers can easily discover and access available APIs and integrate them into their own applications to create new financial or lifestyle products or services for consumers.

JETCO Chief Executive Officer, Angus Choi, said:

“Open API offers an incredible collaborative opportunity for banks and different industries to launch new services and grow their revenues in a symbiotic manner. Providing connectivity has been a barrier to this development in the past, involving complex technology, substantial time and cost investment, as well as cumbersome processes associated with due diligence check on every TSP.

JETCO APIX also provides a sandbox for users to test and experiment their new ideas in a secure environment with just one simple registration. The result is higher operational efficiency and quicker time-to-market.”

JETCO is also working collaboratively with TSPs in a range of industry sectors. The initial projects with Price.com.hk and MoneyHero.com.hk will facilitate the integration of their applications with banks’ APIs, while OpenRice will allow banks to access their e-voucher APIs to improve their offerings to bank customers.