---
title: "What is Application programming interface (API)? | IslamicOpenFinance™"
description: "A defined way for software systems to request data or actions from each other; the technical channel of open finance."
url: https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/api/
lang: en-GB
source: "IslamicOpenFinance"
---

[Glossary](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/) / [Open finance and APIs](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/#open-finance)

Open finance and APIs

# Application programming interface (API)

A defined way for software systems to request data or actions from each other; the technical channel of open finance.

An application programming interface is a defined set of requests and responses through which one software system can access the data or functions of another. In open finance, institutions expose APIs so that authorised providers can retrieve account information or initiate transactions with the customer's consent. Some regulators, including the Central Bank of the UAE, route these connections through a central API hub rather than bilateral links.

## Sources

- [Central Bank of the UAE Rulebook, Open Finance Regulation: Article 1, Definitions, API Hub](https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/open-finance-regulation)

This entry explains a term; it is not a Shariah ruling. Approving a product is for each institution's own Shariah board and regulator.

## Related terms

[**API hub** A central platform through which institutions and licensed providers connect for open finance, instead of many bilateral links.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/api-hub/) [**Open finance** Customer-permissioned sharing of financial data, and initiation of services, by licensed third parties through secure interfaces.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/open-finance/) [**Data sharing (open finance)** An open finance service that gives a customer a consolidated view of their data from one or more institutions.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/data-sharing/) [**Strong customer authentication** Verifying a customer with at least two independent factors, such as something they know, have or are.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/strong-customer-authentication/)

**Open finance and APIs**

1. [Open finance](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/open-finance/)
2. [Consent (open finance)](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/consent/)
3. [Data sharing (open finance)](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/data-sharing/)
4. [Service initiation](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/service-initiation/)
5. [Data holder](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/data-holder/)
6. [Open finance provider](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/open-finance-provider/)
7. [API hub](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/api-hub/)
8. [Strong customer authentication](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/strong-customer-authentication/)

[All 221 terms](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/)