The first Yodlee FinAppstore webinar was held yesterday – did you miss it? No problem.
Watch it here: https://www114.livemeeting.com/cc/yodlee/view
Recording ID: FCR57B
Attendee Key: j\,q]3}GB
Here is the Q & A session from that webinar:
Q: When developing the widgets, do I have access to the Yodlee APIs outside the sandbox? Or do I have to upload it to the sandbox to try it out?
For 1.0, the REST APIs will not work outside of the Yodlee development sandbox inside of Yodlee MoneyCenter. You will be able to build and test your widget inside of the Adobe Flex Builder for basic unit testing, but when you are ready to test with actual calls into the Yodlee APIs you will need to upload them into the sandbox.
Q: I don’t have a US verifiable ID or payment account. When will I be able to access the developer framework?
Send an email to developer@yodlee.com explaining who you are and we’ll start working towards getting you access.
Q: Will Yodlee’s ASP app be using the new REST APIs?
Yes. Yodlee’s platform contains a set of SOAP APIs that are granular and highly complex. The new REST APIs are being built on top of that SOAP API set. In Yodlee 10, all of the Yodlee Widgets offered to the consumer will make use of the REST API set.
Q: How long will approval for a widget take?
Most widgets will be approved between a few days to a couple weeks. Being proactive and working with Yodlee on your widget idea can help to speed up with process. If you spend six months secretly developing a huge base of code for the widget and then ask for certification, it will take longer than if you had been pro-actively working with the Yodlee Development team.
Q: Can I use data on another site like Facebook (using OAuth)?
For 1.0 release, widgets must be hosted inside of the Yodlee web application. We’re working towards having these widgets be externally hosted. An external widget will use the same OAuth technology and same REST API.
Q: Can I do a mashup of content from outside of Yodlee?
In version 1.0, content will only be permitted that is accessible through the Yodlee REST API. In a later release (most likely in time for 2.0), Yodlee will permit certain content to be accessed via a Yodlee REST ProxyServer that will logged and controlled for security purposes.
Q: How do iPhone developers interface with this new app store?
iPhone apps will be classified as “external client widgets” that are meant to run natively on an external device. To work with Yodlee you will need to develop two applications: one that is for sale in the Apple iPhone Store, something like the “Expense Manager,” that has the majority of functionality and one that is for sale in the Yodlee FinApp store, something like the “Enable iPhone Expense Manager.” The consumer needs to download/buy both to get external access. OAuth will be required to enable data access from a Yodlee powered service to the external widget application on the iPhone.
Q: What about test data? Will developers have access to a wide variety of sample accounts with different transactions and characteristics? Or do we have to use real data?
For 1.0, all of the real data that Yodlee pulls through into your Yodlee MoneyCenter account will be available to your widgets in the sandbox. You can create manual accounts and manual transactions to simulate a variety of data.
Q: When will the next SDK be available that can use data outside your applications? Can we get an early beta release?
The roadmap has externally hosted widgets becoming available in the summer of 2010. We’re not planning on an early access program right now.
Q: Is it possible for a financial institution or portal that deploys the Yodlee 10 product to include a widget for all of their consumers rather than requiring a consumer to add it themselves?
Yes. Our distribution partners have a variety of options available to them. Dashboard pages may be configured for different user segments or customer profiles and have different combinations of widgets already enabled for a consumer. Partners will also be able to pre-buy certain widgets for all of their consumers to be available right when they join. Furthermore, banks will be able to pre-fund consumers Yodlee FinApp Store balance with money to spend on widgets.
Q: You mentioned the iPhone. Are you open to other platforms like Blackberry or Android?
We’re open to all platforms. We see strong demand for client applications built for mobile devices powered by Blackberry, Android, Symbian, and the Windows Phone 7 Series.
Q: 1st level of approval is with Yodlee , and 2nd level of approval is with banking clients, correct?
When your application is certified, Yodlee will approve it for distribution on Yodlee MoneyCenter and make it available for approval to all of the Yodlee customers running Yodlee 10. These Yodlee customers will also review the application and decide if it makes sense to release it to their consumers. Key decision criteria for a financial institution will be to ensure that cobranding is working well, ADA is supported properly and that the application doesn’t conflict with products and services that the particular institution may have built for them.
Q: How do you become a customer of the traditional Yodlee SDK built on SOAP for external applications?
Yodlee has a lot of customers using the existing SOAP APIs and building their own applications on the Yodlee Platform. You can learn about this at http://www.yodlee.com/customerspartners_sdk.shtml. The key difference between using the SDK directly and coding for the Yodlee FinApp Store is that you are responsible for building your own community when coding directly to the SDK.
Q: Is there a mobile version of Yodlee MoneyCenter planned which will support FinApp Store?
No. Yodlee does have a web application hosted at https://mobile.yodlee.com, but there is no plan to have a mobile app store or to allow widgets to be hosted as part of the Yodlee Mobile application.
Q: Is there a place for developers to discuss issues?
Yes, the Yodlee has a forum site available at http://forum.yodlee.com which has a forum dedicated to dicussion of the FinApp platform.
Q: Is there a return policy for a consumer who buys a widget?
Widgets aren’t considered “purchased” until 24 hours have elapsed from the purchasing event. Consumers may return to the widget within the 24 hour window and no interaction with anyone is required. After 24 hours, each developer may offer a refund, but this will be handled outside of the store process in version 1.0.
Q: How do we validate a developer who is giving phone or email address?
Yodlee requires that the developer either pass an explicit identity verification electronically or speak on the phone with someone from the Yodlee developer enablement team to validate their identity.
