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Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

root.co.za

111–120 of 427 posts

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#111

Founder here :) Feel free to ask me any questions

How far inside the bank do you APIs go? Do they deploy code you wrote or how are they providing the access? Did you build on top of some raw APIs? The hardest part of this businesses is probably that connection with the bank and I'm curious about what info you can share regarding that.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#112
post #9

I'd like to have something like this for Germany. I am willing to pay 10€/month for a simple API access to my bank account. I need neither hosted code nor push. Just give me remote access for my scripts. Probably I'm asking for the impossible because of the heavy regulation in Germany but just wanted to put it out there.

N26 has got a quite decent REST API if you are willing to use your dev tools for a bit :) Edit: Most banks also seem to support FinTS [0], but it seems a bit of a PITA. Edit 2: figo might be worth a try as well, though I don't know their pricing. Edit 3: bunq is quite nice as well. I implemented a few basic calls in node when they launched the API. Not the easiest API to work with, but acceptable. [0]: https://www.hb…

Don't trust them. They really fucked up there security.

https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#113
Root is a lightweight bank account designed to be accessible through code.

Wait, what? Code you write yourself?

Sounds like they may have accidentally provided the perfect solution to different problem: technical recruiting and screening.

No more technical interviews. If your code doesn't work, you don't get your money. Woo hoo, problem solved.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#115
post #9

I'd like to have something like this for Germany. I am willing to pay 10€/month for a simple API access to my bank account. I need neither hosted code nor push. Just give me remote access for my scripts. Probably I'm asking for the impossible because of the heavy regulation in Germany but just wanted to put it out there.

N26 has got a quite decent REST API if you are willing to use your dev tools for a bit :) Edit: Most banks also seem to support FinTS [0], but it seems a bit of a PITA. Edit 2: figo might be worth a try as well, though I don't know their pricing. Edit 3: bunq is quite nice as well. I implemented a few basic calls in node when they launched the API. Not the easiest API to work with, but acceptable. [0]: https://www.hb…

RE: N26 I think we very much disagree on what decent API choices are :) https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! Founder here. Currently in private beta, but if you're with Santander, Nationwide, RBS, Natwest, Ulster Bank NI, or IOM Bank I can give you access - sg@teller.io.

Have you integrated this directly with the banks or do you take user's login details and scrape the online banking sites (like MoneyDashboard does)? I would be more than willing to switch banks just to get a read-only API for this kind of thing, if only it was properly integrated (read: I don't have to give my login details to a third party)

Teller uses the APIs used by the bank's own mobile app, i.e. they have been reverse-engineered. Whether Teller requires personal credentials is dependent on the bank's implementation. Barclays (integration temporarily unavailable), and Nationwide use EMV CAP (the card reader) for registration. If we can figure out a way to not take user credentials, we will always take that route.

I recommend Starling and Monzo if you want a read-only API for your own account, but if you want to build apps for 65 million customers they're not yet much use to you.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! Founder here. Currently in private beta, but if you're with Santander, Nationwide, RBS, Natwest, Ulster Bank NI, or IOM Bank I can give you access - sg@teller.io.

Have you integrated this directly with the banks or do you take user's login details and scrape the online banking sites (like MoneyDashboard does)? I would be more than willing to switch banks just to get a read-only API for this kind of thing, if only it was properly integrated (read: I don't have to give my login details to a third party)

I think you can use yodlee and it good for read only purpose.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#118
post #9

I'd like to have something like this for Germany. I am willing to pay 10€/month for a simple API access to my bank account. I need neither hosted code nor push. Just give me remote access for my scripts. Probably I'm asking for the impossible because of the heavy regulation in Germany but just wanted to put it out there.

N26 has got a quite decent REST API if you are willing to use your dev tools for a bit :) Edit: Most banks also seem to support FinTS [0], but it seems a bit of a PITA. Edit 2: figo might be worth a try as well, though I don't know their pricing. Edit 3: bunq is quite nice as well. I implemented a few basic calls in node when they launched the API. Not the easiest API to work with, but acceptable. [0]: https://www.hb…

Afaik N26 have no open API for public use.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#119
post #11

What problem does this attempt to solve? Their slack example doesn't seem particularly pressing.

Hey @tarr11, founder here. We're trying to make banking more accessible to creators/developers so that they can build their own problem solving solutions :)

This is amazing. Are you on twitter or some other place I can find you and talk?

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#120
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Sweeping funds from one account to another based on business events. 2. Fraud detection. 3. Real-time reporting.

Why would you be able to build a better fraud system as an end-user as opposed to card issuers and processors?

Because you have knowledge of your own patterns, because you can change technology much faster and test many things as opposed to banks that usually evaluate enterprise super expensive software, usually neglect open source and hence don't always have the best tools. If you think the integration as an individual you probably cant, but if it's a company building on top of something like this, then it's totally possible to be better than the issuers and processors.
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