Pay by Bank : can positively enhance the consumer wallet.

For a new payment method to be adopted by consumers, it successfully needs to solve a problem that exists within payments.

There are plenty of examples that exist today that are less than optimal for a customer and where an account to account payment would simplify and improve the payment experience.

Consider the use of a QR code in a printed bill or invoice to initiate a payment. Rather than logging in to an online portal and entering card information or going into internet banking to create a payment with specific account and reference details, a customer simply scans the QR code on their phone and is directed to a secure site to choose their bank and authorise. All amounts and reference information is prefilled so there is no data entry and no concern with making payment mistakes.

Account to account payments (or Pay by Bank as we prefer to call it) can also be useful as a payment button in an online checkout. As a customer shopping on a new website, rather than be faced with manual card data entry, they can simply select Pay by Bank, choose their bank to connect to and authorize the payment using biometrics (eg: TouchID). There is no financial data sharing, no manual data entry, no account to set up and manage and the payment is highly secure.

A large number of payments are still also taken over the telephone.

Imagine a customer receiving a secure SMS message from a servicing agent whilst they are on the phone to them. Tapping on the secure link creates a secure connection to their bank authorise seamlessly biometrically — completely avoiding the need to read out sensitive financial information over the phone.

There are multiple benefits for businesses in offering Pay by Bank and there is the opportunity to pass some of this back to the consumer to drive conversion and encourage future engagement. The platform Banked has built integrates a range of rewards and incentivisation options into the experience giving merchants the power to directly incentivise and reward customers to drive engagement and loyalty.

Pay by Bank isn’t the solution that is going to replace all other payment types — cards, mobile wallets, BNPL etc. all have their worthy place in a customers wallet. Pay by Bank enhances that wallet and is a great to alternative to slower, less secure and less convenient payment methods.

Adoption does take time; contactless payments took years to gain momentum but now most people couldn’t imagine many of their day to day payments without it. But with the 'hygiene factors' covered; Security (secure connections, no sharing of financial data), speed (a two click process) and simplicity (no account needed, no login) there is every reason to believe that this will become a payment option of choice.