Equity Release API Standards
Criterion, operating as a not-for-profit, is the leading industry Standards and Governance body for the UK's financial services industry and its customers.
Criterion took on the stewardship of API designs for Equity Release Quotes and KFIs, initially created by Iress, and through collaboration with the working group, later developed the Equity Release Apply Standard.
Both have been published as industry Standards and we will continue to work with market stakeholders to support and manage their evolution.
Our Equity Release API Standards are free to access and adopt. To access them, just register on our website.
RegisterEquity Release API Standards
Who we are and what we do
- We inspire businesses to be better connected and more productive through nurturing greater collaboration, increasing process efficiencies, fostering cross-industry engagement, driving standardisation and achieving better outcomes for their customers.
- Although Criterion was created in 2017, the team has been delivering standards and governance services to the UK’s financial services industry since 1989.
- We will continue to support ongoing standards evolution, management and governance on cross-industry initiatives, all essential in ensuring sustainability.
Why Standards for APIs matter
We work with key stakeholders, to define Standards for APIs that meet the needs of the market as a whole. This means that a single API build can be deployed with many trading partners, cutting out wasteful redevelopment. API technologies have contributed to an explosion in data integration, making it easier and quicker to get the right data to the right place at the right time, to support the right business process. Technologies like JSON and OpenAPI have made development and deployment of APIs easier than ever. But it is still quicker and more cost efficient to build a service once and deploy it with many trading partners, rather than to rebuild it or refine it time after time to meet their differing needs.
How to find the Equity Release Standards
All Criterion Standards are available on our website in our Standards Library and our API Standards for Equity Release can be accessed and used free of charge by any organisation with an interest in this market.
Registration is simple and once processed you can download the Standards to which you have been given access.
You can search for a specific Standard, or use the filter to browse Standards sets, markets, categories and product types. For more information on how to use and navigate the library and working groups, please refer to our How to Guides.
How the Equity Release Standards will be developed and managed
Our approach to governance provides a framework that helps stakeholders to work together to simplify the nuts and bolts of how their market functions. This reduces market friction, and helps companies to extend their reach, free up resource and concentrate on what differentiates them.
The ongoing development and evolution of the Equity Release API Standards will be overseen by our Equity Release API Standards Governance Group. Participation is open to any organisation registered to use the API Standards.
If you would like to find out how to get involved in the future of these Standards, please contact [email protected].
How to find out more
If you have any questions about our Standards or Governance services for the Equity Release market or anything else, please get in touch.
0131 357 0100.
Equity Release Standards
Register for our website
Please register for our website to get access to the Equity Release Standards and Governance groups.
RegisterDave Miller, Iress, Executive General Manager
Having created the Equity Release standards, Iress is delighted that Criterion will act as custodians from now on. Criterion has published these designs as industry Standards for wider adoption by organisations in the Equity Release market. Criterion is a not-for-profit organisation, which will give the industry confidence that their focus is on doing what will drive the greatest benefit to their stakeholders.
Jim Boyd, CEO of the Equity Release Council
We are pleased to welcome Criterion to the Council’s membership and applaud its commitment to helping industry partners work together efficiently and effectively to meet consumer needs. Innovative use of technology and data will play an important role in providing products and services to a growing customer base, as more people consider the role of property wealth alongside pensions, savings and investments to help fund later life.