API server and method of usage thereof

A method of providing interactions with multiple different hosts, the method comprising:

• installing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in a common messaging interface on a payments API server in a dedicated controller, the APIs configured to interact with payment hosts, loyalty hosts and pinpads, the loyalty hosts configured to provide loyalty rewards to a user for at least one of use of a particular transactional device or for a transaction involving a particular store or item, the common messaging interface being a Payment Messaging Interface (PMI);
• receiving HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests from point of sale (POS) terminals, Island Card Readers (ICRs) and computers at the payments API server;
• in response to receiving an HTTP request from one of the POS terminals, ICRs or computers, handling, by the dedicated controller, interactions associated with eXtensible Markup Language (XML) requests to, and responses from, the PMI and using an appropriate one of the APIs to interact with at least one of the payment hosts, loyalty hosts, or a POS cache interface of a POS terminal to communicate with the pinpads, wherein handling further includes directing at least one response to a particular POS cache interface of a particular POS terminal to communicate with a particular pinpad;
• and
• after interacting with the at least one of the payment hosts, loyalty hosts or pinpads, providing an HTTP response to the one of the POS terminals, ICRs or computers based on the interaction.