Investec is now actively expanding its banking integrations and Application Programming Interface (API) capabilities through Investec Developer to achieve its goal of moving banking services closer to where clients conduct their work and business operations. Investec believes that this will have a significant impact on the future of banking.
Investec Developer leverages the power of Investec’s digital and technology capabilities to provide private and business clients with a new level of banking access and control. Focused on API banking integration, programmable card accounts and co-creating innovative solutions with the programmable banking developer community. Currently, Investec is the only South African bank to have opened its API’s to individual clients.
One example of this is the recent launch of Spreadsheet Banking, which is currently in beta for Investec Private Banking and Corporate business clients. The service directly connects Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to clients’ Private Bank and Corporate Business accounts enabling them to securely import transaction data directly into their workbooks, with a few simple steps.
Spreadsheet Banking allows clients to stay connected to the bank and harness the power of spreadsheets to manage their money securely and easily. Spreadsheets are still the most widely used tool in financial management across the globe with more than a billion users.
“Over the last few years, we have heard hundreds of clients ask whether their bank can securely integrate into tools they use to manage their money. These client conversations, validated by industry data, sparked our journey to making this, and more, a reality for our clients,” says Scott Stanton, Head of Banking at Investec South Africa.
Investec’s Specialist Bank SA CIO, Shabana Thaver stated that everything about Investec’s approach to technology centres around its clients’ needs and the idea that technology and human interaction are complementary – not mutually exclusive. She added that API’s make the banking experience simpler and more convenient, bringing core bank data and functionality into the heart of where their clients need them.