In recent years, the lending industry has seen a lot of changes, and one of the leading technologies behind this shift is application programming interface (API). APIs are the glue of the modern world, enabling software to communicate and function smoothly.
For example, when you use your phone to book an Uber ride, multiple APIs work together behind the scenes. The Uber app interacts with your phone’s location API and then uses that information to connect with Google Maps API to find the nearest available driver. All these interactions happen in just minutes to ensure you get your ride effortlessly.
Lending APIs are specialised APIs within the financial system designed specifically for lenders, who use them in part or in whole to decide loan approvals, onboard new borrowers, disburse loans, and collect repayments.
Lending APIs help manage the entire loan process. For instance, there are APIs for checking credit bureau info, blacklists, analyzing statement data, and credit scoring.
How do you get lending APIs?
Whether you're looking to approve loans, onboard new borrowers, disburse funds, or collect repayments, lending APIs provide the necessary tools to make these processes more efficient. But how do you access these APIs that can power your lending?
Service providers or lending-as-a-service companies are the main providers of lending APIs. Adjutor is one such service offering world-class lending API infrastructure for lenders who already have their own technology stack but want to plug into reliable, scalable loan infrastructure.
Adjutor: APIs built for your lending business
Adjutor is a lending API service provided via RESTful APIs. These API services include:
Authorizing direct debit, with consent, for repayments
Direct debit (DD) is a payment method that allows an account holder to grant authorization for a biller or lender to take money from their bank account for services as of when due. DD is similar to debit cards' ability to debit a customer’s account with prior authorization.
Direct debit helps businesses that require recurring payments on specific dates with fixed amounts, such as insurance premiums, loan repayments, service subscriptions, or variable recurring payments on different dates (e.g., postpaid lines and electricity usage). The direct debit API facilitates the process for service providers (called Billers) to generate debit mandate instructions on their clients’ or customers’ bank accounts for services rendered or products sold.
These debit mandate instructions are created as digital versions of physical instructions duly signed by the account owners. Once generated, the mandate instructions are automatically sent to the bank, where the account is held for review and approval. The approval process requires the bank to contact the account owner to authorize the mandate, which typically takes 24 to 48 hours.
Getting the bank accounts, with consent, tied to a customer's BVN
One of the well-known national identity systems, the Bank Verification Number (BVN), identifies bank customers within the Nigerian banking ecosystem.
The BVN API allows you to get the details of a BVN for a customer only after the customer has granted explicit consent.
This process works in two stages: The initial API call initiates the process and sends a One-Time Password (OTP) to the customer's registered phone or email address. When the customer provides this OTP, the second stage verifies the OTP and provides the BVN information.
Matching a customer image against what's on their BVN
This allows for real-time verification of an individual's Bank Verification Number (BVN). It is done by comparing their photograph and facial features with their BVN record. This provides your loan business with additional security and accuracy in customer information validation.
Getting credit information about a borrower from the Adjutor ecosystem
The goal is to verify if a borrower exists within the Adjutor-integrated ecosystem.
This ecosystem provides an aggregated view of borrowers which lenders can access to make informed decisions. To access this service, a lender must provide evidence of the customer's explicit consent.
Furthermore, if it is proven that consent was never provided, the lender would be liable for all legal costs required to amend issues that may arise. Offending lenders may also be removed from the platform.
Getting "probable" fraud information from our Karma blacklist
This is used to check if a customer is on the blacklist of bad actors.
Karma is a database of blacklisted individuals within the Adjutor ecosystem. A bad actor engages in fraud or attempts to request loans using a fake identity. They may also be chronic defaulters whose lenders have written off their loans.
Get started with Adjutor – Lending API
Accessing Adjutor’s APIs is easy and one of the fastest in the market. You can make your first API call in less than 15 minutes. Here's how:
- Sign up for an Adjutor account: Get started by creating an account on the Adjutor platform.
- Select required services: On Adjutor, you can select the API services you need for your loan app from the available options.
- Obtain API keys: Follow the instructions on how to get your API keys from Adjutor. Now, you'll be ready to integrate the APIs into your system.
APIs to power your lending
APIs are now the mainstay in the lending industry. They unify lenders, borrowers, and other financial institutions in the ecosystem.
The good thing is that Adjutor allows you to access its API service independently. With these APIs, you maintain complete control over your technology while also maximizing the benefits of Adjutor’s infrastructure.
At Adjutor, the focus isn't just on who uses the platform. It's about expanding access to credit across Africa and beyond by enabling modern lenders to build, grow, and scale efficiently with the right tools. If you’re serious about lending in Nigeria, Adjutor isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-integrate. Visit Adjutor or Reach out to us today at support@adjutor.io, and let’s get you started.
