Recently we announced the release of Bondora API (Application Program Interface) that has been up and running for testing. We received a lot of great feedback and in the end of this week we are planning to roll out an updated version of the API to fulfill the requests.
We spoke with our Head of Engineering, Tarmo Protsin, to ask what the new version includes.
In short, what is Bondora API and how does it work?
API is the messenger that takes requests and tells a system what you want to do and then returns the response back to you – the interaction between applications, data and devices. It’s like a doorway which people with the right key can pass. It allows you access to Bondora in a controlled manner and it’s limited by the key – it is a tool that provides information and exposes Bondora’s functionality for other services and applications.
Every investor can create their own implementation of the client application by choosing any programming language and platform. You can even create a browser plugin and have the UI look the way you want and show the data that you are interested in.
Investors who do not have the necessary tech skills will also benefit from the API as 3rd party developers can now build new application on top of our data and functionality. We expect there to be a number of companies that will provide specific add-ons to our core product that will complement the user experience on Bondora.
Who benefits the most from Bondora API?
Investors who want to create their personalized Portfolio Manager to run their own models on the loan data to make investment decisions and investors who want to have data or filters that our website does not provide. Bondora API will support the more active, trader type of investors by allowing granular reporting and customized investment strategies. First and foremost, it will give active investor the flexibility that the new Portfolio Manager does not.
What can our investors see in the renewed Sandbox environment?
Bondora API includes Primary Market list, bidding, loan detail information, list of your investments, Secondary Market list, buying and selling through Secondary Market. We have also improved the documentation and added OAuth 2.0 authorization for more secure authentication and authorization.
What has been the most valuable investor feedback that you implemented in the product?
For example instead of the basic authorization we added OAuth 2.0 for authorization. We have added Secondary Market functionality, more filters and fixed the bugs that investors have reported.
To wrap up, we have received many questions about security. How secure is Bondora API?
By using OAuth 2.0 authorization instead of the basic authentication the users do not have to expose their username and password to 3rd party applications because the authentication (login) is made on Bondora website. We have added permissions for accessing different user resources and for actions made on behalf of the user. User can also choose the actions and data that he will allow access to. The process is similar to Google, Facebook and Twitter where you are allowing access to your personal information or posting on your behalf.
