Modular financial solutions: the power of API-based platforms

Published on Dec 13 2023.

11 minutes reading

Until very recently, being part of the financial universe and offering payment and banking solutions was only feasible for large institutions. Fortunately this has changed, and today we have a dynamic market with increasingly attractive and personalized offers. What prompted this? In addition to regulations becoming more flexible was the advent of modular and API-based financial solutions!

With modular financial solutions, companies in any segment can create more value for their business by offering only the products and financial services that are relevant to their clients. This now happens at the speed of an integration, thanks to the API-based model. As in other sectors, innovation gained scale and the market has become more competitive as technology has become available to just about everyone. In fact, many specialists say we are living in an API Economy.

This movement paved the way for fintech, and it has also accelerated financial inclusion. In this article we will explain what modular financial solutions are, give examples of how they are used, and analyze how they help accelerate innovation in the sector, allowing any company to be a bank. So let’s dive in!

What are modular financial solutions?

Modular financial solutions, as the name itself implies, refer to a platform comprised of modules. That is, various elements can be combined in a personalized manner to meet specific demands.

These modules can include a variety of financial services, such as digital accounts, Pix services, credit card issuance, and means of payment, among others. The result is a tailor-made solution that meets the needs of each specific business.

When we talk about modular financial solutions, understanding APIs is fundamental, as APIs perform an essential role in making this technology feasible.

Developers can create specific modules using APIs, without having to worry about the complexity of the entire system. These modules, in turn, can be integrated into a larger financial solution, allowing personalization according to a user’s demands.

And since everything happens at the speed of an integration, this accelerates development, allowing faster and more agile interactions when implementing new resources, or when correcting problems.

What is an API? And how does it work in a modular financial solution?

An API, or an Application Programming Interface, refers to a set of programming methods that allows different systems to be connected to each other.

Financial APIs are micro-systems that make it possible to offer functionalities, services, and financial products, allowing banks, fintechs, and companies to be able to further enrich their users’ experience.

How about an example of applying an API in a modular financial solution?

One frequent use is providing financial services on platforms of companies that are not originally in the financial sector. For example, this might include retail chains e telephone companies that might offer products such as digital cards or credit cards, among others.

This is an addition to use of APIs by banks and fintechs that already have financial solutions, but that want to plug in new functionalities on their platforms without having to develop them in-house. It is also frequently used to accelerate innovation within these institutions, making them more competitive.

The modular financial solutions that can be plugged in to your business using APIs

By using modular financial solutions fintechs, banks, and other companies that offer financial services improve the user experience by automating processes and reducing errors. The technology also allows companies from diverse sectors to develop their own services and financial products with greater agility, using already-tested and validated functionalities.

Why are API-based modular financial solutions considered to be a synonym for speed and agility in the processes we described above? Because they allow companies to think more about business strategy and less about developing new technologies , since they can be “plugged in” to their solutions by a specialized technology provider.

Dock is an example of a company that develops APIs to form this building block in the payments and banking market. Through our global and modular Financial API platform, we provide our clients with solutions in four main pillars:

Banking

You might already understand that there is a huge transformation under way in the financial sector, where services are no longer exclusively offered by traditional banks.

Part of the reason is that APIs for banking services are a main vector that has allowed this transformation to accelerate, with any company or institution being able to have its own “bank,” with its brand and its business model, quickly and without major complications..

Both for fintechs —which will have their main activity in those services— as well as for businesses from other sectors that decide to work in the financial segment, having your own bank through Financial APIs includes countless advantages, such as:

Offering financial services without the bureaucracy involved of becoming a banking institution;
Optimizing the business’ financial management, simplifying transactions, and reducing costs;
Expanding the portfolio by including financial services, gaining client loyalty and paving the way to gain new clients;
Providing a better experience for the consumer.

With Dock’s Banking solution, you can offer a complete digital account with functionalities such as:

Bill payments;
Instant payments ( Pix Pix Checkout);
Transfers;
Invoice generation;
Reloads and loans.

With Dock’s API Pix Plug-and-Play, your company can become an indirect Pix participant and further bolster your operation at lower cost and with more possibilities.

Card issuance and processing

Financial APIs that issue and process cards allow credit and debit cards to be configured, whether they are physical or virtual, pre-paid, and multi-benefit.

For retailers, for example, issuing a card that bears their own brand can be a great way to gain consumer loyalty and drive sales..

By offering a card to your client, you allow them to access credit, promotions, and many other benefits that will make your business much more attractive, solidifying the relationship with the client.

Plus, from data records and transactions you can better understand consumer behavior and create loyalty programs, among other initiatives.

Dock’s Credit Card as a Service solution, which is one of the Cards & Credit offers, provides:

End-to-end card issuance and processing;
Easy to implement, with state-of-the-art technology and no bureaucracy;
Use of credit licenses in conjunction with the network and regulatory entities;
Generation of regulatory and accounting files.

Using one of Dock’s Cards & Credit offers, you can also participate in the benefits market and issue your own Multi-Benefit Card.

With the Multi-Benefit Card, your clients can create personalized portfolios with specific balances for various benefits, from food (PAT) to culture, health, transportation, and much more.

Dock provides the entire technological infrastructure and regulatory licenses at competitive costs, while your company receives incentives from the card networks, and remuneration from operations.

Acquiring

Acquiringis nothing more than the payment technology that allows the store, card network, and issuing financial institutions to communicate.

In summary, we can say that acquirers intermediate electronic payments, such as those made using cards and Pix.

Within this context, Financial APIs for acquiring can serve a range of clients, from consolidated market players seeking more efficient and personalized solutions for their businesses, to entrepreneurs wanting to enter the means of payment universe with an already-complete infrastructure.

Fraud prevention

Using Financial APIs is also important in preventing fraud in the cards and banking market.

Through numerous detailed steps, the technology allows companies and institutions to prevent fraud without losing good transactions, ensuring more peace of mind and a better experience for users.

The solution of Dock’s Fraud Prevention solution, for example, allows risks and fraud to be detected, investigated, and prevented throughout all stages of your operation. Companies benefit from end-to-end peace of mind in their operations.

Beyond fraud prevention, the solution provides state-of-the-art market tools through an accessible business model, allowing companies of different sizes to obtain the best in fraud protection.

Modular financial solutions: how does Dock help your company unravel its full business potential?

API-based modular financial solutions are developed by companies like Dock, which is a payments and banking technology provider. With these resources, even companies that are not in the financial sector can offer solutions without having to go through a long internal development and validation process , unraveling the potential of participating in this exciting market.

With more than 20 years of experience and over 8 billion client transactions every year, Dock One, our global and modular platform, is currently the only platform that offers solutions for the entire payments and banking ecosystem.

Learn more about the platform in this video:

Modular financial solutions: what you saw in this article

With modular financial solutions, companies in any segment can create more value for their business by offering only the products and financial services that are relevant to their clients.
The concept of modular financial solutions refers to a platform comprised of various elements that can be combined in a personalized manner to meet specific demands.
APIs allow developers to create specific modules, without having to worry about the complexity of the entire system.
Solutions for banking, card issuance and processing, acquiring, and fraud prevention can be plugged in to your business using APIs.
Dock offers a global and modular platform, which is the only one with solutions for the entire payments and banking ecosystem.