Clarity for Financial APIs

Independent, evolving research on financial APIs — free to use.

Understand the entire financial API ecosystem in minutes, not days.

Currently in early access — everything is free while we expand coverage and refine the model.

API Radar maps and compares financial APIs — from card schemes to PSPs and banking infrastructure — so you can see who exposes what, and where each provider fits in the global payments stack.

  • •Compare sandbox capabilities across Visa, Mastercard, SWIFT, Stripe and more.
  • •See who exposes what capabilities—from payments and payouts to infrastructure-grade reference data.
  • •Understand access models, data fidelity, and developer experience at a glance.

Preview from the API Capability Map

ProviderCategoryTierSandbox
VisaCard SchemeC0✅
MastercardCard SchemeC0✅
StripePSP / ProcessorP0✅
SWIFTNetwork / InfrastructureI2⚠

Note: Tiers are segment-specific (C0, P0, X1, I2, B0) and not comparable across segments. See Methodology for details.

Why teams use API Radar

  • Compare capabilities across providers without vendor bias — see what each API actually exposes, not what marketing claims.
  • Understand where each provider fits in the payments stack — card schemes, PSPs, cross-border platforms, banking infrastructure, and payment networks.
  • Avoid apples-to-oranges comparisons with segment-specific tiers — never mix up a PSP with a payment network.
  • Save days of research when evaluating APIs — product managers and engineers get answers in minutes, not weeks.
  • Get a neutral, structured view of what each API actually exposes — no vendor marketing, no paid placement, only documented capabilities.

API Radar publishes periodic research snapshots summarising the global financial API landscape.

This is the core of our analysis during early access.

Featured Reportv0.3

Payments API Capability Snapshot

Where payment intelligence actually lives — routing, validation, metadata, and why most APIs hide it.

Payments Intelligence across 10 providers / 5 segments

10
Providers analysed
5
Segments compared
100%
Neutral analysis

Preview

ProviderSegmentTierSandbox
VisaCard SchemeC0✅
StripePSPP0✅
SWIFTNetworkI2⚠
  • ✓Where routing/validation metadata actually lives in the stack
  • ✓Why sandboxes differ by stack layer — intelligence vs abstraction
  • ✓How to choose segments without false comparisons — mental model guidance
View Full Snapshot →All Reports

Early Access — What this means

API Radar is currently in early access. That means:

  • •
    Everything is free — no paywalls, no memberships.
  • •
    We're actively expanding provider coverage and improving our models.
  • •
    Your feedback helps shape what we build next.
  • •
    API providers cannot pay to influence rankings, tiers, or coverage.

This phase is about learning from the community — not monetisation.

Why API Radar Exists

API Radar is an independent research initiative created to bring clarity to an ecosystem with no neutral, structured source of truth. During early access, the full site is available for free as we validate demand and expand our dataset.

API Radar provides the clarity teams need: a bird's-eye view of the global financial API landscape with segment-aware comparisons, neutral research, and methodology-first analysis. No vendor marketing. No paid placement. Just documented capabilities in context.

Fragmented information

Scattered across dozens of developer portals, blog posts, and vendor documentation with no central source of truth.

No neutral comparison

No structured scoring or capability mapping that lets you compare providers side-by-side without vendor bias.

High evaluation cost

Product managers and engineers spend days researching each provider, often missing key capabilities or limitations.

Capability tiers for financial APIs

API Radar uses segment-specific capability tiers so you can see at a glance what a provider actually exposes within its category. Tiers are not comparable across segments—a Tier C0 (Card Scheme) is different from a Tier P0 (PSP).

The Financial API Stack (5 layers)

Card Schemes
PSPs / Processors
Cross-Border / FX Platforms
Banking Infrastructure
Network Infrastructure

Each layer operates at different levels of the financial stack

API Radar uses segment-specific tier models to avoid misleading comparisons across provider types. Each segment (Card Schemes, PSPs, Cross-Border/FX, Banking Infrastructure, Network Infrastructure) has its own tier progression.

For example: Tier C0 (Card Schemes), Tier P0 (PSPs), Tier X1 (Cross-Border), Tier I2 (Network Infrastructure), Tier B0 (Banking Infrastructure).

See the Methodology page for complete tier definitions per segment.

Starting with the core of global payments

This is a preview sample – more providers coming soon.

Coming next

Open banking, BaaS, banking APIs, identity/KYC, and regional payment rails. API Radar will gradually expand from schemes, PSPs and networks into the broader financial API ecosystem.

Visa

Card Scheme
Capability Tier:Tier C0
Sandbox:✅ Free with registration, mock data

Key capabilities

Card paymentsTokenisationRisk & fraud APIs
Notes:

Strong payments & risk APIs with comprehensive developer resources.

Mastercard

Card Scheme
Capability Tier:Tier C0
Sandbox:✅ Free with registration, synthetic data

Key capabilities

Card paymentsFraud & securityTokenisation
Notes:

Rich payments & fraud APIs with strong developer tooling.

Stripe

PSP / Processor
Capability Tier:Tier P0
Sandbox:✅ Test mode + great DX

Key capabilities

PaymentsPayoutsBilling & subscriptions
Notes:

Developer-first payments & payouts APIs with excellent documentation and tooling.

SWIFT

Network / Infrastructure
Capability Tier:Tier I2
Sandbox:⚠ Contract-based access; no open public sandbox

Key capabilities

Cross-border paymentsMessaging & trackingConnectivity
Notes:

The reference data backbone for BIC, IBAN structure, and cross-border payment tracking.

Built for people who live in APIs

Payments Product Managers

Compare scheme/PSP/network capabilities in one place instead of 20 tabs.

Integration Engineers

Know upfront which APIs expose test sandboxes, webhooks, routing data, or only mock flows.

Banking & Infra Strategists

See where your stack is strong or weak across schemes, PSPs, and reference data.

How API Radar Works

1

We scan developer portals and API docs

Only official docs and developer portals. No third-party sources or vendor marketing materials.

2

We classify capabilities and sandboxes

Capability tiers, sandbox fidelity, (where applicable) routing & reference metadata, and developer experience factors.

3

We publish neutral comparisons

No paid placement. Methodology-first research that helps you make informed decisions.

API Radar is fully independent.

API providers cannot pay to influence rankings, tiers, or coverage.

We monetise nothing today — all analysis is free during early access.

Join early access — get notified as we expand provider coverage

No spam. Just meaningful updates on new API research, comparisons, and reports.