TryOkra

1. What is Okra?

Positioning: Okra is a leading Open Finance API platform focused on the African market, offering a comprehensive suite of financial infrastructure services.

Functional Panorama: The platform covers core modules for financial data aggregation and payment initiation, including Connect, Data, Payments, Identity, and Transfers. These modules collectively enable developers and businesses to build innovative financial products and services.

2. Okra’s Use Cases

• Lenders can use Okra’s Data and Income modules to access real-time financial data, automate credit scoring, and verify income, leading to more accurate lending decisions and reduced risk.
• Fintech Apps can leverage the Connect and Data APIs to build personal finance management tools, offering users a holistic view of their finances, budgeting capabilities, and insights into spending habits.
• E-commerce Platforms and Merchants can integrate the Payments API to offer seamless account-to-account payments, reducing transaction fees and improving the checkout experience for customers.
• Financial Institutions can utilize the Identity and Data modules for enhanced Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, real-time fraud detection, and streamlined customer onboarding, ensuring compliance and security.
• Digital Banks can use Okra’s comprehensive suite to power their core banking functionalities, including account linking, transaction monitoring, and facilitating secure transfers within their applications.

3. Okra’s Key Features

• Supports batch transaction data retrieval, offering up to 24 months of historical data for comprehensive financial analysis.
• Introduced enhanced Direct Debit functionality in May 2024, enabling businesses to set up recurring payments and manage subscriptions more efficiently.
• Expanded bank coverage to include major financial institutions in Ghana and Kenya in March 2024, significantly broadening the platform’s reach across West and East Africa.
• Offers a robust Identity Verification API, allowing real-time confirmation of customer details directly from banking institutions.
• Users frequently commend the developer-friendly SDKs, noting the ease of integration and comprehensive documentation.
• Launched a new webhook notification system in April 2024, providing real-time updates on transaction status and account changes for improved data synchronization.

4. How to Use Okra?

Okra’s API and SDKs enable developers to integrate financial data and payment functionalities into their applications with a structured workflow:

1. Sign Up and Access API Keys: Register for a developer account on the Okra dashboard to obtain your unique Public and Secret API keys.
2. Integrate Okra Widget/SDK: Embed the Okra widget into your web or mobile application, or integrate one of the dedicated SDKs. This allows users to securely link their bank accounts.
3. User Account Linking: Guide your users through the Okra widget to select their bank and securely authenticate their financial accounts.
4. Access Financial Data: Once an account is linked and authorized, use your backend to make API calls to retrieve real-time data such as transactions, balances, identity information, or income details.
5. Initiate Payments (Optional): For payment-enabled applications, use the Payments API to initiate direct debit or one-time transfers from linked user accounts after necessary user consent.
6. Process Webhooks: Configure webhooks to receive real-time notifications for critical events, such as new transactions, account updates, or payment status changes, ensuring your application’s data is always current.

5. Okra’s Pricing & Access

• Free Tier: Okra offers a free developer tier, supporting full access to the sandbox environment and a limited number of live API calls per month for testing and development purposes. This tier typically includes access to Data and Identity products.
• Pay-as-You-Go/Growth Plan: For businesses scaling beyond the free tier, Okra provides flexible pricing based on API call volume and the specific products consumed. This tier is designed for startups and growing businesses, often with competitive rates per successful API call.
• Enterprise Plan: Large enterprises requiring higher volumes, dedicated support, custom integrations, and specialized features benefit from custom pricing. This tier often includes advanced security features, custom data analysis, and service level agreements (SLAs).

6. Okra’s Comprehensive Advantages

• Okra provides the deepest and most reliable coverage for financial institutions across Nigeria, significantly outperforming competitors in terms of bank connectivity and data accuracy within the region.
• Its Payment Initiation API is recognized for its high success rates and low latency, positioning it as a preferred choice for real-time account-to-account transfers compared to other providers in the African open finance landscape.
• Okra’s robust security framework, including end-to-end encryption and compliance with global data protection standards, offers a significant advantage in safeguarding sensitive financial information compared to nascent market entrants.
• The platform’s continuous expansion into new African markets like Ghana and Kenya in Q1 2024 demonstrates a proactive approach to regional leadership and broader market reach.