A business-to-business (B2B) product called FinLayer RESTful API was launched this week offering business owners the ability to create their own online financial services platforms, such as budgeting tools or online bond applications. It was created by Limitless Technology Group which was behind the creation of the moneysmart app, a consumer budgeting tool, which was discontinued by the same firm.
(For more information on the demise of the moneysmart app, click here).
But it appears that moneysmart wasn’t a complete waste of time as Tobie van Zyl, founder and CEO of Limitless Technology Group, explained that the development of the FinLayer API comes from advancements in the moneysmart technology.
“During the course of developing the budgeting tool and learning more about the financial ecosystem and where we’d fit in, we started to learn that our tool was somewhat ahead of the curve. Furthermore, we began to understand that we couldn't be entirely omnipresent to serve the majority of the consumer market.”
Moneysmart and FinLayer API
Van Zyl explains: “Whilst pivoting moneysmart purely from a budgeting tool into a credit management tool as a way to differentiate ourselves from competitors, we started integrating credit bureau reports into moneysmart and realised that the credit report itself could actually become a stand-alone product.
“We then geared our focus to provide financial education to over indebted consumers and the consumer credit report was our vehicle to deliver just that. Financial companies already had the traction and access to large consumer databases, yet they required new innovative products that could help their clients. And that's where we offered our first B2B product, The Limitless Consumer Credit Report through an API.”
FinLayer API offers many of the same services that were available through moneysmart. However, van Zyl reveals that the FinLayer API offers “more functionality with more data services.”
He adds: “This time around, by integrating and utilising our platforms, we are powering FinTech companies to build either their own consumer-facing products or internal operational processes.”
FinLayer RESTful API
Van Zyl points out: “Limitless Technology Group now acts as an API (application-programming interface) marketplace and technology platform that enables banks, credit providers and third-party developers to pioneer the next generation of online banking services.”
The company has achieved this through its RESTful FinLayer API. According to van Zyl, the FinLayer API is a scalable data aggregation platform that allows third-party applications and services to aggregate real-time financial data for their customers, delivering all the information generated by the application to web and mobile platforms.
The services offered by the FinLayer API include:
· Social media profile - aggregation, authentication, scoring
· Identity verification - eliminate fraud, authenticity scoring
· Credit scoring – credit bureau services
· Banking - real-time bank statement aggregation
· Affordability assessment and transaction categorisation
In addition to the above services, the Limitless Technology Group is also looking to add stock market and investment data feeds to its FinLayer API.
Van Zyl states: “We offer a flexible modular approach for each product as annual license fee and pay-per-use transactional models that provide flexibility in the deployment of new features and services according to our clients' customers' needs.
“Currently, we have already started to deploy our services in the banking, credit, bond origination and wealth management space and are investigating the life and short-term insurance markets as well.”
Using the FinLayer API platform
As many of the systems making use of the FinLayer API are still in development and the process of beta testing, van Zyl could not reveal the names of any of the company’s customers. However, he did say that there are two websites that are already making use of the Limitless Technology Group technology. These are https://instantloanssa.co.za and www.mybondfitness.co.za
Van Zyl notes that by using the FinLayer API, MyBondFitness is able to make the process of applying for a bond quicker and easier.
“The MyBondFitness platform removes the tedious manual paperwork required by most home loan originators as it pre-qualifies buyers in four easy steps and in under five minutes. With a successful prequalification, both the estate agent and bond originator can focus on only those buyers who do in fact meet the minimum financial criteria required by the banks, thereby eliminating those applicants who don't. MyBondFitness will thereafter further assist those non-qualifying customers on a financial fitness journey to be able to afford and eventually buy their first homes,” explains van Zyl.
According to van Zyl, there are plans to add more functionality for the financial sector to the platform in the future, as well as for the Limitless Technology Group to build its own apps on top of the FinLayer API.
He says: “We’re still planning to release our own customer-facing application in the future, however for now we’re focusing on delivering to our clients a world-class technology platform. As the company grows and expands we hope to start taking some time to complete our own application. It is important however that such an application will not compete with any of our clients’ offerings.”