ForgeRock, a platform provider of digital identity management solutions, has been selected by the Open Banking Implementation Entity to provide a Reference Bank Application, which will be used by banks and third parties to develop their own applications in accordance with Open Banking standards.
A major milestone in the Open Banking movement, this announcement highlights the completeness of the ForgeRock Identity Platform in solving complex requirements of global enterprises.
Open Banking is an ambitious endeavour, by and for financial services organizations, to embrace technology that will give customers greater freedom and control in how they interact with their financial services providers. It intends to enable individual consumers and small businesses to share their data securely with other banks and with third parties, allowing them to compare products on the basis of their own requirements and to manage their finances without necessarily having to use their bank.
ForgeRock becomes a key enabler in making Open Banking a reality. In being selected to develop, host and manage the Reference Bank Application, ForgeRock will deliver the cloud- based application that will drive the demonstration and testing of the Open Banking API ecosystem, much more than just a simple front-end.
Built to API specifications (see https://www.openbanking.org.uk/read-write-apis/), the ForgeRock Reference Bank Application provides the agreed standard for testing the functionality of Account Information Service Providers (AISPs) and Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs). In this way, organizations in the Open Banking ecosystem will gain the ability to build their own web and mobile applications for Payment Service Users, such as personal and business banking customers. The API specifications are now in the public domain and third- party providers are registering with Open Banking, so once their applications and endpoints are developed they can be used in a production environment. Once an ASPSP (Account Servicing Payment Service Providers), PISP or AISP is authorized, they will be able to join the Open Banking Directory; all digital identities and certificates are then provided which enable organizations to securely connect and communicate via the Open Banking Security Profile.
Mike Ellis, CEO of ForgeRock, said, “ForgeRock is pleased to partner with Open Banking to deliver the Reference Bank Application as a service. It will be the true foundation for helping to ensure success with this wide-ranging set of regulations. ForgeRock already has experience in working with CMA 9 banks, so it’s fitting that we were selected. As banks work to deliver new and differentiating services to attract and retain customers, they can continue to rely on ForgeRock.”
The latest release of the ForgeRock Identity Platform introduced a variety of new capabilities to the market that brought ForgeRock’s flagship offering into compliance with both PSD2 and Open Banking.