Bank Leumi creates Open Banking marketplace in Israel

FinTeka realised that cloud was the baseline for success and that most fintechs already used AWS. With its robust API framework, GFT could offer a practical solution quicker than building from scratch.  

The GFT Open API Framework (OAF) 

As a serverless architecture running on AWS, OAF offered a fast, proven way to build, manage and share APIs safely and securely. Key components include: 

• API Gateway to manage Leumi Bank APIs systematically and automatically with integration and control through a single interface   

• AWS Web Application Firewall to ensure safe accesses, avoid a wide variety of cyberattacks and to protect endpoints with mechanisms recognised by international security regulations 

• AWS Kinesis Firehose to view, monitor and control API consumption in real time, facilitating ticketing, indicators and visualisation of usage trends  

• KMS and Secrets Manager ensures all credentials used by the solution are stored securely while AWS Key Management Service guarantees the creation and management of cryptographic keys 

The OAF solution had been continually proven in several harsh commercial environments, so GFT was confident that Bank Leumi would be able to meet its objective of releasing new APIs frequently but in a controlled manner.  

Although the initial regulatory requirement in Israel was for seven APIs to facilitate data sharing and account aggregation, Bank Leumi’s business strategy was to expose hundreds of APIs across a range of banking and cyber activities.  

From the outset, both companies worked shoulder to shoulder with weekly progress meetings. GFT had a dedicated team of up to 14, working in two-week sprints.