Amex Launches Pay By Bank

American Express announced it is planning to roll out a new real-time product that will let U.K. consumers pay for goods and services online, the company said in a press release on Monday (Sept. 23).

Its Pay with Bank Transfer will be offered in Q4 to U.K. bank account holders even if they are not American Express cardmembers.

American Express is teaming with eCommerce merchants across a variety of industries, including Thai Airways, Hays Travel, the Royal Lancaster London hotel and others.

By harnessing open banking rules, the Pay with Bank Transfer option will let sellers receive real-time payments from the customers of leading U.K. banks. Buyers can check their account balances and make online payments.

“It’s great to see American Express seizing the potential that open banking can bring to companies, helping businesses offer a new method to swiftly and securely accept online payments from their customers,” said Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE, trustee of the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE).

The open banking enterprise offers people enhanced management over their finances. Recent EU rules now enable the sharing of data from several banks. The new guidelines have also made room for new payment products like Pay with Bank transfer.

“American Express is driving innovation in payments, and Pay with Bank Transfer reflects our commitment to delivering choice for U.K. consumers and businesses through new ways to pay,” said Dan Edelman, vice president of American Express.

The Pay with Bank transfer product will be launched before the end of the year and will continue throughout 2020.

“How consumers prefer to pay has never been under so much change, scrutiny and advancement, and we are pleased to be partnering with American Express to be the first giving platform to innovate through open banking,” said Keith Williams, general manager and head of U.K. and Ireland at JustGiving. “This will not only put us at the forefront of consumer behavior in payment and banking innovation, but it will also make giving even easier,”

American Express announced in August that it plans to acquire acompay, a digital payment automation platform, from ACOM Solutions. Acompay helps business customers make supplier payments, manage business spending and improve cash flow.