API

An API (Application Programming Interface) is an interface that allows two pieces of software to communicate: one sends a request, the other returns a response in a standardized format. In identity or company verification, it is the most common integration mode: the system calls the API at the relevant point in the journey, receives a result within seconds and carries on. The points to examine in a contract are response time, the availability guaranteed by the SLA, error handling and version stability, since a breaking change forces the integration to be reworked. The alternative is batch processing, suited to deferred volumes.