By Hans Tesselaar December 12, 2017
As we head into 2018, I expect to see the evolution of trends that emerged in 2017. Primarily, we will see the development and maturity of APIs and the move to micro services.
While this year we saw the first APIs become available, these were simple versions — for example, APIs that could provide an address. However, as we move into 2018, we will see organisations attempt to orchestrate more complex APIs, such as those that allow customers to initiate a loan.
In addition, from mid-2018, the first ‘open’ APIs will become available and if the industry can understand and migrate to micro-services, we can expect to see a bank that no longer relies on core systems within one to two years.
This way of operating will completely change the way that banks work and how software providers will have to design and package their solutions. In order to thrive in this landscape, organisations will need to collaborate through a global standard.
However, I think that we’ll see a slow adoption rate of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) — the technologies that are in place for payments are already robust so there is no immediate reason for drastic change. While we may see some closed group proof of concepts, I don’t expect massive adaption in this sector.
Lastly, legislation will continue to be a hot topic, particularly given the conflict between PSD2 and GDPR. For that reason, PSD2 will experience a slow start, despite pressure from the regulators. Being compliant with both will be a major challenge.