Afinis Interoperability Standards Releases New APIs for Account Ownership Validation and Payment Initiation

HERNDON, Va., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nacha's Afinis Interoperability Standards announced today it has released two APIs to assist financial institutions' business clients with account ownership validation and with payment initiation.

Afinis is a membership-based organization that focuses on the rapid delivery of APIs and other financial services standards across the U.S. and globally. The new APIs are:

• Account Validation Plus Name: validates the owner of an account, as well as the accuracy of the routing and account number. 
• Authorize to Initiate Payment: assists a business in providing information and authorization to a trading partner so the trading partner may process a payment transaction against the business' financial account or virtual card. The API also enables the business to receive a notification when the trading partner has received the payment instructions. 

"Businesses clearly articulated their desire to verify the account owner as a way to provide greater certainty for originating payments to correct accounts," said George Throckmorton, Executive Director of Afinis. "The Account Validation Plus Name API helps with this vital fraud protection tool."

Afinis has been evolving its Account Validation API for some time. For example, organizations participating in Phixius, Nacha's peer-to-peer payment information network, implemented the first version of the API Standard in 2020.   

"The top request from Phixius participants is additional verification tools. Phixius plans to implement the new Account Validation Plus Name API soon," Throckmorton said. "The ability for a business to verify the owner of an account provides better surety for payment equity and reducing fraud." 

The second API standard, Authorize to Initiate Payment, supports B2B debits, which commonly require payors to visit multiple payee portals and manage different processes. The Afinis API standard allows payors and payees to instantly agree on the terms of each payment and receive real-time confirmation. The API also provides a real-time ACH debit authorization, as well as a virtual card number authorization – making it easier for payors to use both payment options and receivers to enable straight-through processed payments.   

These two APIs are the newest additions to the suite of API standards published by Afinis and adopted by developers. To join or learn more about how Afinis is advancing API standardization to enhance the efficiency and security of today's modern financial industry, visit www.nacha.org/afinis-interoperability-standards.

Afinis membership is open to all types of organizations – regardless of size or location – interested in the development of API standards. Current Afinis membership stands at nearly 60 organizations and 200 active participants. 

About Nacha
Nacha governs the thriving ACH Network, the payment system that drives safe, smart, and fast Direct Deposits and Direct Payments with the capability to reach all U.S. bank and credit union accounts. Nearly 27 billion ACH payments were made in 2020, valued at close to $62 trillion. Through problem-solving and consensus-building among diverse payment industry stakeholders, Nacha advances innovation and interoperability in the payments system. Nacha develops rules and standards, provides industry solutions, and delivers education, accreditation, and advisory services. Learn more at Nacha.org.

SOURCE Nacha

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