BIAN, the independent not-for-profit standards association, has unveiled new developer tools aimed at streamlining the adoption and implementation of its standards.
Developed in collaboration with its members, these tools are designed to enhance productivity for developers and architects, making it easier to comply with BIAN standards.
A key feature of this launch is the API Align Tool, which empowers developers and architects to identify the most suitable API for their projects. The tool also allows users to map internal APIs against BIAN’s standards, evaluate alignment and certification, and receive AI-driven recommendations to optimise API alignment.
In collaboration with major platform providers like Microsoft, BIAN is working towards embedding these tools into popular platforms. This will enable banks leveraging such platforms to efficiently create, develop, and integrate BIAN-compliant APIs and code objects, further accelerating digital transformation initiatives.
The introduction of these tools comes as banks face challenges in maximising returns on technology investments. According to McKinsey, banks spend approximately 10% of their revenues on technology but experience a year-on-year productivity decline of 0.3%. By adopting BIAN standards, financial institutions can unlock greater value from tech investments, replace outdated systems, and better meet customer demands.
A representative from a global bank currently piloting the API Align Tool highlighted its impact, stating: “The API Align Tool is critical in improving integration and standardisation as we progress our digital transformation projects. The tool will contribute to significant time savings and efficiencies as we’re now able to reduce the development of open standards-based on BIAN’s APIs from fifteen hours to just one hour.”
Additionally, BIAN has introduced the Business Scenario Designer (BSD) tool. This process-modelling tool enables users to select relevant BIAN Service Domains and create workflows aligned with BIAN standards. With features such as templated processes and user-driven contributions to template development, the BSD tool supports collaboration and ensures broad applicability. Future iterations will advance from process diagrams to code generation, reducing integration time even further.
Steve Van Wyk, chairman of the BIAN executive board, said: “The new BIAN tools enable developers, architects and business decision makers to leverage our standards more effectively. We will start to see much greater development, adoption and usage of standards-based integration with these tools, lowering the costs of integration and enabling more banks to embark on digital transformation projects. BIAN is committed to lowering the cost of banking and overcoming issues surrounding interoperability in the industry. Our new tools are another step towards achieving this goal.”
The tools are available for BIAN members to preview immediately, with ongoing development guided by member feedback. BIAN has also announced plans to release additional tools over the next year, further supporting its mission to address banking interoperability challenges.
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