We’ve learned what microservices are, who might use them, and how they function in the world of open banking. If you’re reading this, it’s quite likely that you work for a business (a bank, for example) that might one day need to make use of a microservice like Transaction Transform. As a transaction enrichment vendor, we specialise in collecting and analysing transaction data to make it more useful.
So what might prompt a bank or another business to make such a decision? The answers to this question are many and varied, but we’ve narrowed it down to a few examples, illustrating some possible catalysts.
- Customer surveys that show a demand for more transaction information.
- Digital teams who want to improve user journeys and experiences.
- Product specialists trying to optimise product design.
- Management being keen to launch insight and actionable-insight features across web and mobile apps.
- Fraud teams who need to make customers more self-sufficient when it comes to auditing and investigating their own transactions.
- The market-wide push towards visual aids on bank statements becoming part of default offerings by early 2022.
- A need to modernise online and mobile offerings, particularly if there are targets for acquiring younger customers.
Transaction enrichment – things to think about and what to ask your vendor
Below is our ten-step, no-holds-barred guide to working with a transaction enrichment vendor like Transaction Transform.
Digital transformation raises a number of questions internally. This list may help you decide the best approach for moving forward – especially when working with microservice suppliers.
1. As we’ve mentioned elsewhere, the language of open banking, microservices and application programming interfaces (APIs) can be quite complex. If your vendor promises transaction “cleansing and enrichment”, for example, it’s important to find out what they actually mean by this. You should ask how, exactly, they intend to offer these services and what they mean by the words they use to describe their product.
2. Next, you’re going to need to see some examples of enriched data. In the first instance, the vendor might provide it in a simple “show and tell” format. Later, though, they should offer a sample of around 500 transactions. Finally, you’ll need examples in a sandbox environment to let you test integration.
3. At this stage, you’ll need to find out how simple (or otherwise) it is to integrate the vendor’s solution. The key pieces of information here are the type of API you will need to use and what needs to happen on both sides to put the solution in place.
4. You’ll also need to think about the volume of transactions involved. How many of them can the API handle at once? Can the solution be scaled up or down according to demand?
5. Where is the API based? Is it a remote/cloud service, provided by something like AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Google Cloud? Or is it on-premise, which means it will have to be physically installed on the relevant systems?
6. Now we come to one of the most crucial considerations – what can the vendor do for you in terms of? You’ll need to know the percentage of transactions that can be:
- cleaned;
- enriched with logos;
- enriched with geo-locations; and
- categorised as online-only.
What is the cost of an Open Banking microservice?
7. Finally, ask the vendor what percentage of transactions will be deemed ‘cannot be found’ and what type of transactions will fall into this group?
8. Service-level agreements (SLAs) are important, too. You’ll need them for data, uptime and emergency contacts.
Partnership and collaboration are key aspects of open banking and working with microservices. How often will your vendor be in touch? Do they fully understand your product and value proposition? Could they offer additional microservices to improve your customer experience? We take a deeper dive into the subject of collaborative working here.
9. The vendor’s pricing structure is, of course, critical. You’ll need insight into how it’s modelled. Is it adaptable for bespoke use cases? Can they offer good incentives for start-ups, scale-ups, challengers and institutional banks? What are the terms of the contract going to be?
10. And last, but by no means least, think about credibility. Does the vendor have a track record of providing technical solutions for companies like yours?
While our ten steps to successfully working with a transaction enrichment vendor are by no means exhaustive, we hope they have provided you with some useful food for thought. Stay tuned to our Insights page for more of our opinions on transaction enrichment, open banking, APIs and microservices. If you’d like to find out more about how Transaction Transform can enrich your data, please contact our team for more information.