• The team at GSMA Intelligence (GSMAi) has looked at the industry verticals that offer the greatest opportunities to telcos for network API revenues 
• Banking sees greater demand for network APIs, while media offers higher potential yields
• Big opportunities in healthcare and public sector but budgets cause concerns

The banking and financial services sector sits alongside media and entertainment as the leading verticals for telcos looking to cash in on network APIs, according to a new index from GSMA Intelligence.

The financial sector is seeing the greatest enterprise demand, according to figures compiled by the GSMA’s research arm. These statistics stem from the industry body’s Open Gateway initiative, which has played a key role in enabling common network APis to be deployed by the telco community. 

To create its Open Gateway Demand (OGD) Index, GSMAi aggregated indicators around how quickly and extensively different industrial verticals are adopting network APIs, as well as gauging the revenue opportunity offered by each sector. The aim of the OGD is to help operators hone their go-to-market strategies as they look to monetise APIs.

Banking and financial services is at the top of the overall Open Gateway Demand (OGD) Index ranking, followed by media and entertainment in a close second place and healthcare in third, with retail and manufacturing rounding out the top five. 

Banking and financial services achieved an overall score of nearly 79, “reflecting substantially stronger revenue potential and greater readiness for network API adoption,” noted GSMAi. 

By contrast, the lowest‑ranking sector – agriculture, forestry and fishing – scored just 59, indicating a considerably lower level of near‑term opportunity. 

The media and entertainment sector also achieved a total index score of 79, and, according to the index, offers the strongest revenue-generating opportunity, though its enterprise demand score was some below that of the financial sector. 

To gather the data, the GSMA Intelligence drew on responses to a survey it conducted in mid-2025, with a subset of 5,300 respondents from enterprises looking at leveraging APIs.

In financial services, network APIs – such as the Camara-based SIM Swap or the Number Verification APIs – are being used to help authenticate users of digital banking and payment services. 

The media sector is increasingly dependent on high-quality connectivity, giving rise to quality assurance APIs. The GSMA found that while demand was higher in the financial sector, banks are less likely to use higher-yielding APIs than companies in the media and entertainment sector.

According to the study, retail, healthcare and the public sector all score highly in terms of enterprise demand but lower in terms of market opportunity, due in part to budgetary constraints.

The GSMA found there is a high level of awareness and understanding of network APIs in the financial services sector, with solutions having already been deployed by banks across the globe. Healthcare is also a positive story for mobile operators, where 70% of affiliated developers said they have deployed a network API in partnership with an operator – this compares with an average of 45% across the entire ecosystem.

The biggest barriers to adoption were identified as limited market demand for applications using network APIs and concerns about commercial viability.

The GSMA concluded its report by offering three core lessons for API monetisation:

• Demand is necessary but not sufficient on its own
• Monetisation strategies should focus on specific verticals
• Pricing must reflect enterprise value over network costs.

The report comes as the GSMA marks three years of its Open Gateway initiative, which launched a global framework of common network APIs in early 2023. Since its launch, more than 86 operator groups, representing more than 300 networks, have signed up.

Alongside them, more than 60 channel partners – spanning hyperscalers, aggregators and communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) providers – are commercialising network APIs at scale, according to the GSMA, highlighting the “very good momentum” of the project, the GSMA’s head of networks, Henry Calvert told TelecomTV at MWC26 last month.

– James Pearce, Editor, TelecomTV