Published: January 17, 2025
According to Celent’s Hines, open banking in the UK doesn’t work perfectly for corporate treasuries anyway. “The APIs are generally too retail-bank focused, and the datasets often too narrow,” he explains.
“Instead, most corporate banks have created their own corporate-specific APIs – outside of the regulated environment – which are more transferrable globally and indeed useful for the specific corporate treasury marketplace, which spans many borders.
“Payment infrastructure modernisation projects can often provide the capabilities to support value-added services for corporates as well,” continues Hines, while stressing this amplifies the benefit of making API investments in the services, as well as connectivity fields.
“The corporate market is big enough to make it worthwhile for banks – and established PSPs – to make the investment. Corporate-specific APIs can get them a bigger share of wallet.”
“The corporate bank can move in step with the retail side in terms of innovation and providing data-centric services, thanks to the push towards open banking,” continues Hines. “But it’s using the technology and the approaches, not the regulated environment under the UK regulation or PSD2/3 in the EU, which is the crucial driver to offer enhanced cash management and liquidity tools, plus improved connectivity to treasurers.”
To prove the point, Asia is most advanced in its adoption of open APIs as it has let the technology rip, without focusing so much on the regulation. The tech possibilities are what are driving this super-fast change towards hyper connectivity.
“India – and indeed Asia generally – is definitely ahead in the evolution of its API usage, digital marketplaces, and payments systems,” says Standard Chartered’s Mehta.
The seamless data-centric service corporates want is already happening in India thanks to the country’s modernised payment rail infrastructure and the strategic digital vision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which embraces open API usage and emerging payment technologies.
A collaboration between BNP Paribas India and the Indian payments fintech Pine Labs in the service of Fortum Group’s Indian electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, for instance, shows what is possible (see box 1). New pre-authorised credit risk-free payment options for charging your EV via a physical or virtual card, with an associated app, have improved convenience, speed and automation. The app links to the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) RuPay domestic payment-processing network and the instant interbank funds transfer capabilities of the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Customer choice, speed, and an enhanced UX are the hallmarks of Fortum’s collaborative payment solution.
Fortum Group’s Indian electric vehicle (EV) charging stations have been hampered by a cumbersome post- payment and collections model. The Fortum Charge & Drive (C&D) unit has introduced new pre-authorised credit risk-free payment options via a physical or virtual card, with an associated app, to improve convenience. This links to the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) RuPay domestic payment processing network and the instant interbank funds transfer capabilities of the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
The co-creation project was undertaken by Fortum C&D in conjunction with its long-term primary banking partner, BNP Paribas India, and the Indian payments fintech Pine Labs. The two key objectives of the project were to:
Taking a co-creation approach, a co-branded open-loop payment solution was developed, using APIs to connect to Indian payments fintech Pine Labs’ merchant acquiring platform. With that connection in place, the RuPay network sits in the background, managing the settlement between the issuer and card acquirer. UPI integration then provides instant interbank fund transfer capabilities. Enhanced collections are a given in this new set-up.
As an additional UPI benefit, a current Indian government subsidy scheme also reduces the merchant discount rate (MDR) to zero. This bonus is driven by the Indian government’s Digital India programme, which is seeking to remove manual paper-based processes across the board, digitising its economy for the 21st century.
Overcoming legacy issues
At the time of submitting Fortum Group India’s entry, the company’s then Head of the Project Finance & Treasury team, Rajani Modi, explained: “Previously, customers had to provide payment information every time they used a C&D charging point. Transactions could be tracked only via customers’ bank statements in the past. The legacy payment experience was sub-optimal.”
Its successful overhaul in what is a ‘sunrise’ sector vis-à-vis EVs is a win-win for BNP Paribas India and Pine Labs, which is gaining traction in an emerging field. The latter was chosen from a shortlist of five vendors by the bank because of its history of successful projects and the fact that it was the only domestic vendor capable of offering Fortum unified access to the country’s three primary cash collection points. Pine Labs can collect from card-present POS terminals and e-commerce platforms, as well as acting as a licensed prepaid card issuer.
“Our customers are happy with the new solution,” confirmed Modi. “For those who were used to the old post-payment process, now having it available in their mobile and being able to see how much is being debited at the point of use is a huge step forward. And now they can also use our card across other charging stations and merchants, they no longer have to carry multiple cards.”
Similarly, an Indian project undertaken by Standard Chartered with Cummins Technologies India (CTI) uses the country’s already-in-place modernised infrastructure to best effect (see box 2).
The project digitises CTI’s brand and speeds up incentive payments to client mechanics ordering their engine parts or generators. It uses APIs and the Indian NCPI, UPI and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) via a linked app and QR-based scan and automate program to create a fully digital incentive payment loop.
“Banks have developed numerous corporate-specific APIs to get the most out of India’s modernised infrastructures,” says Mehta.
“Open APIs are key to the future in the B2B arena, having already been deployed B2C and vice versa in the e-commerce space,” Mehta continues. “Digital marketplaces are proliferating. Standard Chartered provides a holistic infrastructure for clients looking at having a B2B e-marketplace, and offers solutions across Collect, Hold and Pay functions. Furthermore, clients can also co-create with us to embed digital financing.”
A fresh loyalty programme for mechanics replaces a cumbersome paper-based incentive scheme, cuts out any middlemen, and swiftly puts cash in the pockets of the people who matter.
Cummins Technologies India (CTI) designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and alternative fuel engines and generators, as well as supplying parts to mechanics. As key selling partners, mechanics generally decide which brand of parts to offer to customers at a dealership. As such, incentive schemes are important.
To improve legacy processes, CTI has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank India to digitise its brand and speed up incentive payments to mechanics via the new Saathi app. This is a first-of-its-kind, OEM-agnostic mobile application for the Indian trucking community. It relies on the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mobile functionality from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The new Cummins Mechanic Loyalty Program (MLP) is a QR code-based programme that enables mechanics to easily redeem points and earn incentives by simply scanning the code on product packs with the Cummins Saathi app, releasing fast incentive payments.
The app replaces the previous paper-based incentive scheme that was slow and cumbersome. The digital, mobile-based instant system that is now in place, deepens the connection to CTI’s key customers.
A collaborative approach
Developed with Standard Chartered Bank India, the Saathi app, has also made it easier to manage redemption coupons, while also offering mechanics a reliable way to identify genuine Cummins parts, helping the firm to build its customer experience (CX) and its own credibility. It is already handling 50,000 transactions per month on average from 5,000 mechanics and is growing all the time.
In terms of collaboration between CTI’s treasury and the bank – which the TMI Awards judges praised in selecting CTI as the Silver winner of Best Payments/Collections Project 2023, the undertaking involved:
Standard Chartered also collaborated with Cummins to help integrate the mobile app into the firm’s banking systems using APIs. The connections established now mean it is a simple matter to trigger immediate payment requests to mechanics, who must register their bank details in the app, to release incentives directly into their bank accounts. Once registered, the mechanic can scan the QR code printed on the Cummins product packs to begin the process. The workflow is as follows:
Security and peace of mind
Project benefits include immediate same-day payments to mechanics, strengthening their appreciation for and use of the Cummins brand, with an expectation of further sales as it is now differentiated from its rivals. A seamless experience that also cuts out middlemen taking profits away from the mechanic and the supplier is delivered. Digitised sales data can also now be used to make better informed business decisions in the future.
Commenting on the project, Ajay Patil, Chief Financial Officer, said: “It is a step towards bringing financial security and peace of mind to the mechanics who are integral to living our brand promise of innovation and dependability.”
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