Beyond APIs: building the open finance ecosystem for commercial growth

In our latest webinar, Beyond APIs: Building the Open Finance Ecosystem for Commercial Growth, Backbase’s Alex Jimenez and Datos Insights’ Enrico Camerinelli unpacked the commercial banking opportunity hidden in plain sight,  and how banks can seize it before it’s lost to aggregators, fintechs, and challengers.

The message was clear from the start: commercial clients expect more. According to Datos Insights research presented during the session:

• 81% of corporate users say full integration between their bank and enterprise systems is no longer optional, it’s a competitive necessity

• 52% want their cash operations embedded in their enterprise systems

• 40% cite integration capabilities as the most influential factor in selecting a financial provider

They want banking where they work, inside their ERP, accounting, and treasury platforms. They want automation, real-time insights, and proactive servicing. And above all, they want banks that move at their speed.

But the reality? Only 39% of banks meet those expectations today.

APIs were supposed to be the answer. But as the conversation revealed, they’re only one piece of a much bigger puzzle.

Corporate clients say banks are falling short in four major areas:

• Real-time payment access

• Embedded reporting

• Payment file integration

• System-wide interoperability

This isn’t just a tech shortfall,  it’s a strategic gap. Banks have opened up APIs but haven’t transformed how those APIs drive real outcomes for clients. As Jimenez put it,

That’s where the true opportunity lies.

A key insight from the webinar: the future of open finance is intelligent, secure, and composable. Not just pipes for data, but platforms that orchestrate action.

The below diagram shows the evolution from raw data to decision and execution. It illustrates how banks need to transform data flows into real-time automation, analytics, and proactive services, all while managing entitlements, permissions, and trust.

“Composability and intelligence matter more than marketplace size,” emphasized Jimenez. Banks can’t keep relying on broad, inflexible marketplaces. They need purpose-built solutions that plug into their ecosystem and scale with business needs.

The fundamental challenge isn’t client demand. It’s bank capability.

Too many banks are still trapped in legacy environments that create disconnected, reactive experiences. But the commercial banking opportunity calls for proactive, personalized, end-to-end journeys.

The Backbase Engagement Banking Platform solves for this, transforming banks from product-pushers into growth partners.

Built with modular architecture, Backbase enables banks to:

• Embed services directly into client workflows

• Activate intelligent decisioning at every touchpoint

• Secure every interaction with role-based entitlements

• Scale across segments from SMBs to corporates, retail to wealth

And because it's fully composable, you don’t need to rip and replace. You modernize where it matters most (onboarding, servicing, or activation) and build momentum with every step.

Commercial banking is no longer about maintaining relationships. It’s about earning them, every day, through better experiences and smarter services.

Banks that succeed in open finance won’t be the ones with the most APIs. They’ll be the ones that turn connectivity into capability.

We’re here to set bankers free  from legacy constraints, outdated stacks, and slow-moving systems. We give them the tools to move fast, scale smart, and drive real growth.

This conversation was just the beginning.

👉 Watch the full webinar on demand and hear directly from industry experts on how to build your open finance ecosystem. 

👉 Register now for our next webinar in the series: Why SMBs leave — and how to retain them, on October 2nd, 2025.

Open finance isn’t coming. It’s here. This is your chance to lead the charge.

Let’s reimagine commercial banking. Let’s build ecosystems that grow with clients. Let’s unlock Growth Mode.