Jan. 16, 2019
Swift has published an API standard called Pay Later, that lets e-commerce retailers offer instant credit to customers and allow them to extend payments on a purchase.
Swift, a Brussels-based financial messaging platform, said the standard will allow consumers to apply for an installment plan from their own bank in order to pay for an e-commerce purchase.
"The original request came from bank customers," said Stephen Lindsay, head of standards at Swift, in a telephone interview. "They are obviously looking to understand how they can increase their residence in a world that is increasingly turning towards e-commerce platforms."
The Pay Later API, formally called the Transactional Finance Application Programming Interface, will allow merchants to make immediate credit offers at the point of purchase, using a variety of banks around the world, and not have to make individual implementations, according to Swift.
Lindsay said implementation would likely begin with a series of pilots to test capabilities of various banks, technology companies and e-commerce firms. He said no monetary amount has been designated as the spending range, but expects the amounts for individual purchases to be in the hundreds or thousands of dollars.
A working group of banks, merchants, technology firms and others are continuing to create rules and additional plans for the Pay Later standard before pilot programs are announced.
Swift has published Version One of the API on SwaggerHub.com.
Topics: Mobile Banking, POS, Retail
Sponsored Links: