Analysis | 🔍 APIs Empowering FinTech: A 2024 Lens

🔍 APIs Empowering FinTech: A 2024 Lens

Analysis

05 April 2025

3 min read

UBS Forums

In an increasingly interconnected financial landscape, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are emerging as the foundational building blocks of modern FinTech innovation. AyeKart Fintech's insightful presentation at the summit offered a comprehensive view of how APIs are not only transforming back-end infrastructures but also reimagining the end-user experience across the financial ecosystem.

🚀 Case in Point: Ayekart’s Embedded Finance Play

The presentation opened with a real-world example—Ayekart, a tech-driven, embedded finance platform that is digitalizing the food and agri value chain. Built on a highly scalable, de-risked model backed by an in-house NBFC, Ayekart has demonstrated:

2.5x YoY GTV growth
336% 3-year GTV CAGR
15% ROCE and INR 4.2 Cr PBT

Ayekart's API-driven approach empowers FPOs, processors, distributors, and retailers—bringing value to over 35,000 retailers, including 2,500 women entrepreneurs.

🧠 Why APIs Are Critical for FinTech

The presentation outlined how APIs solve some of the most pressing challenges in FinTech:

Seamless System Interoperability: Enables cross-platform communication and real-time data exchange.
Faster Go-To-Market: Modular services allow new features to be launched without overhauling legacy infrastructure.
Security & Compliance: APIs now come integrated with OAuth 2.0, encryption, tokenization, and AI-led fraud detection.
Financial Inclusion: Through tools like AEPS and BBPS APIs, services can reach remote, underbanked regions.

🔧 Types of FinTech APIs Driving Innovation

Milind mapped out the wide spectrum of APIs reshaping the financial ecosystem:

Payments & UPI APIs
KYC & Identity Verification APIs
Credit Scoring & Account Aggregators
Insurance, Tax Filing & Digital Documentation
RegTech, Market Data & Digital Escrow

Each API type offers tailored solutions for hyper-personalization, seamless onboarding, and efficient operations.

📈 APIs as Revenue Enablers

A key takeaway was the rise of Open Banking APIs, which are creating entirely new revenue models:

Offering APIs “as a service” (BaaS) to third-party developers
Monetizing data access, account insights, and payment initiation
Leveraging digital escrow and rating APIs for secure and compliant lending workflows

🤖 Generative AI Meets APIs

The integration of Generative AI into API frameworks marks a futuristic leap:

Chatbots and virtual assistants for customer support
Predictive analytics for fraud detection and credit scoring
Automation of financial reporting and regulatory compliance

✅ Final Thoughts

APIs are no longer a backend feature—they are the frontline of innovation, driving agility, compliance, personalization, and scale in FinTech. From enabling open banking to powering intelligent automation, the role of APIs will only become more pivotal as we head toward a more decentralized and customer-first financial future.