Manish Kohli, Global Head of Payments and Receivables at Citi (NYSE:C), notes that at the leading banking institution, they’re using APIs to facilitate payments, to digitize the “client experience” and “ultimately to help change our client’s evolve to real-time, 24×7 direct to consumer business models.”
Kohli adds that since late 2017, Citi TTS has processed over 1 billion APIs.
As confirmed in a release, CitiConnect API, Citi’s API connectivity platform, has managed to reach a new milestone of handling over a billion API calls since its launch.
The announcement also noted:
“This rapid rise in API volume is fueled by the many changes our clients are facing due to the rapidly evolving business environment, including supporting direct-to-consumer flows, new e-commerce models, the switch from batch to real-time, and the advance of Instant Payments. Whether it is to top up mobile wallets in India, disburse micro loans in Argentina, or pay instantly in the USA, Citi’s digital channel solutions play a pivotal role in helping clients of Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) reach their goals and navigate a transforming industry. Citi has collaborated with leading providers of enterprise resource platforms (ERP) and treasury workstation systems and FinTechs to embed API capabilities in an effort to build a seamless integration experience.”
Shahmir Khaliq, Global Head of Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, remarked:
“Our ultimate goal is to deliver an exceptional client experience that is fully digitized and highly automated. As a part of our ongoing digitization efforts, we continue to elevate our user experience by providing clients with improvements driven by data insights and feedback, as well as expanding our intelligent and seamless connectivity solutions.”
The steady adoption of APIs is driven mainly by firms operating in the Fintech, telecom, multimedia and tech sectors. The APIs for Treasury Services, accessed via CitiConnect®, allow clients to integrate “seamlessly with Citi to access a growing number of Citi solutions directly from their treasury workstations or ERP of choice,” the release noted.
The announcement also mentioned that “to help solve important needs for visibility and transparency, some popular API calls include Account Balance Inquiries, Payment Status Reports, requesting FX rates and booking FX contracts.” During the COVID-19 crisis, CitiConnect API volume “steadily increased 60% from the prior year in 2020, as measured by message volume and transactional value, helping our clients with operational resiliency while they continue to operate in remote or continuity-of-business (COB) modes,” the announcement revealed.
Emily Watson, Senior Director of Payments, Global Banking at Flywire, remarked:
“Flywire is trusted to deliver on our customers’ most important moments. We do this by using technology that enables organizations to optimize the payment experience for their customers while eliminating operational challenges. Partnering with Citi through API based integration has allowed us to deliver on our commitment to our clients with ease by instantly sending payments to Citi, and getting real-time feedback on the status of these payments. Through our agile process this provides us with utmost flexibility, and operational cost savings.”
David Terra, Executive Director at TOTVS, stated:
“Our clients are looking to drive efficiencies in their Treasury Operations. Operational tasks that used to take days to complete, are now being completed in minutes, powered by APIs. TOTVS has partnered with Citi to initiate payment instructions, and get real-time status updates. Using APIs allows us to help our clients reconcile transactions faster and more accurately. This in turn helps our clients to better manage their working capital.”
The CitiConnect® solution provides more than 83 APIs for data driven services and transactions. These APIs allow clients “to directly access products and services to help provide a seamless and real-time banking experience.” Services provided “include self-service reports, real-time FX information, and account services such as statements, cut-off times and proof of payment.” Transactions “include payments, instant payments, request-to-pay, and WorldLink® transfers.”
CitiConnect® is part of an omni-channel digital banking product suite that includes CitiDirect BE® Online Banking and Mobile. CitiConnect APIs are supported via an ecosystem that includes “strategic” partnerships with different treasury software providers, such as FIS, Kyriba, Oracle and SAP.
Along with the CitiConnect® API Developer Portal and Testing Portal, Citi TTS “supports API-based integration in a globally consistent way across TTS’ global footprint.”
Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) enables its customers’ “success” by offering an integrated suite of cash management and trade finance services to international corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations.
Based on the foundation of the sector’s biggest proprietary network with banking licenses in more than 90 different countries and globally integrated tech platforms, TTS aims to “to lead the way in offering the industry’s most comprehensive range of digitally enabled treasury, trade and liquidity management solutions.”