Increased consumer interest in digital banking is driving financial institutions to explore technologies beyond traditional online and mobile retail banking offerings. Some financial institutions are now using application programming interfaces (APIs) to develop faster business practices, reach more customers and enhance business value. With Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) APIs, institutions can quickly access their financial information and data, making their existing processes more effective and efficient.
The Real-time Account Balance API enables financial institutions to securely receive and integrate automated, real-time Federal Reserve account balance information on demand. This API can help expedite account activity decision-making and reconciliation. In the fall, the Real-time Account Balance API will be available to all institutions with Federal Reserve master and subaccounts who currently use the Account Management Information (AMI) application.
Early adopter effortlessly pilots the Real-time Account Balance API
First Bank, one of the largest privately owned banks in the U.S., offers comprehensive banking solutions for clients in commercial and consumer banking, wealth management, mortgages and more. Ed Furman, chief investment officer at First Bank, had a problem: it was not convenient for his team to manually check their Federal Reserve accounts and information multiple times per day.
To solve this problem, Furman’s relationship manager suggested implementing the FRFS Real-time Account Balance API, which provides on-demand updates on the beginning and ending balance of each of the bank’s Federal Reserve accounts by financial service. Financial institutions can use the API to pull this information directly into their software platforms. Live monitoring of Reserve accounts via API saves time and can also help institutions avoid overdrafts by sending them notifications if their account balances drop below certain thresholds.
Furman found the API onboarding experience to be straightforward and empowering, emphasizing that the API instantly worked as described. He appreciated FRFS’ comprehensive instructions on how to access and use the API, making it easy for First Bank to pull and interpret necessary information.
The Real-time Account Balance API helped to modernize this process. Onboarding was easy, quick and reliable. They simply told me to click a button, and it was amazing!
Chief Investment Officer
First Bank
Join the API pilot program
APIs create business opportunities for all financial institutions, regardless of their size. Your institution can become an early adopter of FedACH®, Check and Cash FRFS APIs now. Contact your FRFS relationship manager to learn more about joining the pilot program.
