12 Fintech APIs With Free Alternatives 2024

When was the last time you went to a traditional bank? We also cannot. You probably use an app or website for most of your cryptocurrency, peer-to-peer payments, stock trading, and banking activities these days.

Fintech, or financial technology, is a rapidly expanding sector that has already revolutionized financial management for consumers worldwide, from personal loans to professional accountancy services. BalancingEverything projects that the fintech sector will grow to $310 billion by 2022. The industry is being driven by the broad global adoption of these technologies. Although there are more than 9,000 fintech firms in North America, the APAC area has some of the greatest user adoption rates because of a number of significant global fintech leaders, such as Indonesia’s GoJek and India’s Paytm, which is an e-commerce payment system.

When it comes to their apps, today’s fintech users demand the highest standards: payment processing, unmatched security, fraud prevention, instant stock updates, quick customer support or fintech chatbots with sophisticated chat features, and social media features like activity feeds, notification feeds, and commenting.

Instead of creating this sophisticated functionality from scratch, developers want to think about including these best financial APIs—which span a variety of API categories—into their applications.

Payment Processing APIs

Whether it’s buying something online from your favorite e-commerce site or paying your friend back for dinner, a lot of users engage with payment processing platforms on a daily basis to talk with salespeople or sellers who are knowledgeable about a particular product or to confirm that their purchase is on its way to them. However, the processing of payments is intricate. Adding payment capabilities to your app is made simple by these APIs.

1. Stripe API

Apps, websites, and physical businesses can all receive and send payments thanks to the Stripe API. Recurring payments, payouts, financial reports, customizable invoicing, prebuilt UI components, third-party connections, fraud detection with machine learning tools like Stripe Radar, and much more are all part of Stripe’s extensive feature set. Stripe facilitates the usage of more than 135 currencies worldwide. Node.js, Ruby, Python, Go, PHP, Java, and.Net are among the languages used.

2. PayPal Payments API

A wide range of APIs are available from the well-known payment processor PayPal for the majority of fintech app functions, such as Disputes, Invoices, Billing Plans, Subscriptions, Catalog Products, and more. The Payments REST API from PayPal processes payments, records permitted payments, issues refunds, and shows payment details. The OAuth 2.0 protocol, HTTP methods, RESTful endpoint structure, and JSON-formatted payloads are all used by PayPal’s APIs.

3. Braintree API

Scalable and owned by PayPal, Braintree is an end-to-end payment solution with support for web, iOS, and Android that operates on a worldwide scale. Businesses may accept and process cards, wallets, and local payment methods using the Braintree GraphQL API, which also securely maintains client payment information for a smooth checkout procedure. Cardholder data is secure since Braintree is a Level 1 PCI DSS compliant service provider.

Banking Integration & ID Verification APIs

A fintech app’s ability to integrate banking and account information is essential to provide users with an excellent experience. The ease of use and security of account linking are guaranteed by these integration and identity verification APIs.

4. Syncfy Connect API

Fintech apps may safely include data from financial institutions using the Syncfy Connect API to provide a smooth banking, loan, or transaction experience. Customers may examine their entire financial picture with the REST API for data-driven financing, including credit cards, cryptocurrency exchanges, and more. Additionally, Syncfy provides APIs designed especially for accepting payments, integrating with fiscal authorities, and issuing invoices.

5. ID.Me API

The SDKs and APIs from ID.Me are made to assist apps in confirming the identification of new users on the internet. NIST 800-63-3 identification criteria are used by ID.Me for user authentication. Additionally, the APIs may follow SCRA monitoring to service military accounts and use machine learning techniques to validate papers.

6. Plaid API

With Plaid’s array of API solutions, apps may more quickly incorporate financial data for tasks like instantaneous balance checks, fraud detection, and account opening and closing. For a comprehensive approach to financial planning, the Plaid Investments API can link to numerous accounts, including brokerage, retirement, and investment accounts.

Cryptocurrency APIs

The market for cryptocurrencies is predicted to rise from $1.6 billion in 2021 to $2.2 billion in 2026. Apps that support cryptocurrency exchanges, market data, account information, and balances are projected to continue to cause waves in this rapidly expanding financial industry. The innovation of cryptocurrency apps is fueled by the following APIs.

7. Blockchain Exchange APIs

Blockchain’s Exchange API may execute trades with naming conventions compliant with the FIX standard, obtain real-time market data, and request balance information. In addition, Blockchain offers REST APIs that enable any website to take bitcoin payments and send and receive money from Blockchain’s wallet—which it claims is the most widely used platform for cryptocurrency purchases, sales, and earnings worldwide.

8. Coinbase Digital API

Fintech apps may connect to over 40 million Coinbase customers and include cryptocurrencies thanks to the platform’s APIs. Coinbase is a well-known location to buy, sell, manage, and store bitcoins. The Coinbase Digital API allows users to securely store bitcoin cash, create bitcoin, litecoin, and etherium, obtain historical and real-time pricing data, and get payment alerts.

9. Bitquery APIs

Over 20 blockchains provide data access points for Bitquery’s GraphQL API. By tracking money from any source, transaction size, or destination, the company’s Coinpath APIs can assist in the detection of money laundering fraud and other instances of misappropriated monies.

APIs for Stock Trading

To make wise decisions, both individual day traders and large investment businesses rely on real-time, historical, and predictive statistics. Important investor data is provided by these stock trading APIs.

10. Polygon Stock API

Superior financial data from stocks and equities, cryptocurrency, and other sources is provided by Polygon’s REST APIs. For instance, the company’s Stock API offers 100% market coverage, which includes quotations, trades, the most recent trade or quote for a symbol, ticker snapshots, and much more. Developers have access to 19 exchanges for market data, and premium API plans have no daily call limitations or maximum inquiries per minute.

11. Benzinga Stock News API

Benzinga claims that a single news headline causes almost all stock price fluctuations of more than 10%. The company’s Stock News API gathers news items that pertain to both individual investors and larger corporations that may have an influence. These headlines include both curated and original information.The 600–900 real-time headlines that Benzinga publishes each day are included in the API.

12. Alpha Vantage API

Across five categories, Alpha Vantage offers a robust array of APIs that may assist investors of all stripes in making informed trading decisions based on data. Time series, basic data (such company summaries and IPO schedules), real and virtual currencies (like bitcoin), economic indicators, and technical indicators are some of the categories that comprise APIs. What’s great is that all of the APIs are free since Alpha Vantage wants to democratize data.

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