APIs and the
Democratization of Innovation

In a sea of amazing product experiences, companies need
to find a way to stand out.
That means doing more to get and keep customers without compromising important factors like security.

With payments at their fingertips, customers can purchase goods with the click of a digital wallet,
and they’re doing it more and more often from their mobile phone. To build amazing new products in this dynamic environment, businesses must uncover valuable new uses for previously hidden and
isolated data sources. The key is collaborating with others and tapping into the power of APIs to build a seamless and compelling multi-functional experience
across brands.

Real-world impact of APIs

There are numerous examples of how APIs are making it happen:

• When banks leverage geo- location to reduce false declines, merchants can save seconds during the shopping cart experience and reduce cart abandon rates. Visa data shows that cross-border decline rates were reduced by 50% when banks used a cardholder’s geo-location in authorizing transactions.15 Cardholder accounts that opted into transaction- related alerts had 16% higher purchase volume and an 18% reduction in fraud losses than those that did not.
• Careem, a transportation network company based in Dubai, showed that enabling faster peer-to-peer payment methods can help alleviate commute problems in densely populated areas. Based on their success, several rideshare and taxi booking startups followed suit.
• Using AI and machine learning to target consumers with real-time redeemable offers embedded in a shopping experience deepens affinity for brands and improves sales. In the United Arab Emirates, Visa Checkout’s integration with chatbot APIs allows Facebook Messenger users to order pizza, which boosted sales and enhanced the customer experience.

The keys to success

Banks are no longer just builders, they must also be enablers by collaborating to harness the competitive advantage of APIs. Visa has seen the results firsthand. In just two years since the launch of Developer.visa.com, we have grown API calls to one billion per month. This expanding level of engagement is directly helping innovative issuers, merchants, and fintech companies build new, more expansive experiences for their customers.

Success in an API-driven world is defined by three things:

• Openness to partnering with large, digital walled gardens, as well as the open-loop fintech companies.
• Connectedness as the catalyst for building delightful experiences that leverage data and capabilities that transcend brands and ecosystems.
• Security that builds customer trust and adoption.

To enable innovation, today’s businesses must expand beyond the traditional boundaries of IT and transform into the world of APIs. Using partner APIs is the core ingredient to inspiring creative developers to build remarkable, multi-functional experiences