August 3, 2022Abhishek Agrawal

API Integration – The Future of Fintech Payment

The evolution of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) displays defining historical phases in terms of web development and software architecture. Traditionally, APIs have played vital roles in exhibiting data services of software applications through predefined resources like Objects, Methods and URIs (Universal Resource Identifiers). In modern times, APIs acquire fundamental importance in software design, providing complex and detailed generalisations that leverage modular and decentralised software programming tasks by reusing codes.

One of the core requisites of such programming tasks is the seamless integration of widespread functionalities offered by APIs. Consequently, the present-day API Orientation necessitates the indispensable element of API Reference Documentation, acknowledging developers' perspectives.

BENEFITS OF API

The benefits of APIs are most starkly reflected in the emergence of the API Economy in the last decade, with a majority of the Fortune 500 Enterprises adopting APIs for competitive advantage. This matter is manifested in the large-scale Productisation and Monetisation of Data, achieved through the sale of access to valuable digital assets granted by APIs. Moreover, the configurability of APIs can be shared through unified platforms without sacrificing access control, statistical analysis or related security policies. Besides, modern frameworks like RESTful APIs are compatible with Cloud Applications and Services, as these eliminate the friction caused by unsought additional integration layers.

API Management has evolved considerably to be hassle-free, involving the reuse of Integration Assets and allowing the implementation of cutting-edge security protocols like JWT, OpenID, and OAuth (Open Authorization), amongst others. This fact is inextricably linked to rigorous security measures grounded on Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption. Subsequently, API Management aims to harmonise API Gateways, API Developer Portal, Analytics and Reporting and API Lifecycle Management, resulting in end-to-end services. Using popular API Management tools like SoapUI and JMeter, Organisations cater to various requirements, like strategising digital transformation and addressing GDPR requirements. The adoption of APIs, therefore, stands perfectly in tune with the current trends of collaborative and flexible business models. Concerning the financial industry and markets, this paves the path for automated trading tactics that could potentially revolutionise conventional business processes.

Why is Documenting APIs important?

Exploratory and empirical studies conducted by researchers in recent years have formulated specific, insightful guidelines to channelise and streamline API Documentation. Undisputedly, these findings apply to advanced paradigms like REST (Representational State Transfer) that expose data by resources accessible through Standardised HTTP Requests like POST, GET or DELETE. Very often, the high-level superstructure of API Documentation engenders insurmountable hindrances for developers. Moreover, blindly reusing codes tend to be misleading and ambiguous while carrying out programming tasks, thus paying little dividends.

One of the significant implications for ideal API Documentation relates to content organisation. It is imperative to build API Documentation per category indicating the content domain or functionalities of APIs rather than the mistakenly prioritised "types of information". In other words, this reorganisation of content ought to be specific, whereby minimalist documentation would suffice to illustrate the nature of the task.

Another essential need is the integration of conceptual information with associated tasks. This aspect is particularly crucial in obtaining clarity concerning usage scenarios. In the long run, this can facilitate a robust Search Function, enabling improved content categorisation and straightforward navigation. However, grasping the interplay of API Elements is also subject to the codification of said concepts to capitalise on background knowledge. It is to be noted that exemplification of codes demands diligent construction, fostering a clarified demonstration of the intended use of APIs in a holistic and usable manner.

BENEFITS OF DOCUMENTATION

The developer-friendly API Documentation has led to greater standardisations and customisations for the lifecycle and maintenance of APIs. Consequently, this optimises the performance and scalability, thus ensuring impregnable security and governance. It implies a reconceptualisation of "API Usability", reaffirming that APIs are being treated more as products than codes. In other words, it justifies the consideration of APIs as "Services", harbouring more controlled deployment and development.

The prevalence of APIs currently has also given rise to the obscurity and ambiguity faced by the users while finalising the choice of APIs. Lamothe (2020) opines that contravention of API Constraints inevitably leads to vulnerabilities in security matters. Thus, it is of utmost importance to bridge the gaping gulf between API Developers and API Users by devising necessary User Modifications and including easy API Migration Techniques for the users. Lamothe suggests that this can be materialised by state-of-the-art engineering practices banking on open source technologies that can re-establish the feedback loop between the users and developers. These measures can also play crucial roles in mitigating other API risks, such as issues in testing, integration problems and cyber misconfigurations.

REMITSO

RemitSo software can integrate with any product, platform or ecosystem if it offers API documentation. This attribute makes RemitSo work seamlessly for you and helps you deliver high-quality and reliable services to your remittance business customers. To know more about us, please click here.