PayPoint Offers Pay by Bank to UK Energy Customers

Digital payments firm PayPoint is offering a new pay-by-bank service.

The British company said in a Monday (Sept. 11) press release that it has become the first open banking provider offering bank-to-bank transfers as a payment initiation service provider (PISP) to pay-as-you-go energy customers.

“PISP credit transfers operate on the existing interbank infrastructure but provide customers with an easier payment journey, as a PISP payment requires fewer steps and less data entry than other methods while delivering cost efficiencies for any business,” the company said in the release.

PayPoint’s new offering is happening as a record number of people in the United Kingdom engage in open banking, the release stated, citing reports showing people making 11.4 million open banking payments in July, up 9% from June.

“We are committed to investing in and growing our digital payments offering, including our suite of open banking solutions,” PayPoint Director of Client Services Jo Toolan said in the release. “Our most recent Pay by Bank solution offers customers a payment method that requires fewer steps and less data input than others, thereby reducing friction in a customer’s payment journey. Uniquely, we have paired this payment option with a Pay-as-You-Go vend, enabling the service for customers using a smart meter.”

PYMNTS examined the rise of open banking last week in a conversation with Ross McFerrin, vice president of enterprise growth at Trustly.

“Open banking has been more firmly rooted internationally but is gaining some ground in the United States,” that report said. It uses open application programming interfaces (APIs) that let third-party developers build applications and services around the financial institution.

McFerrin warned that there’s no “one-size-fits-all approach” for open banking. The keys to success might be tied to selling the convenience of open banking to end consumers — or to widening the range of payment options offered and denoting some options as “preferred.”

He added that several businesses, in partnership with his companies, have uncovered ways to incentivize customers to stop using credit cards and instead opt to use their bank accounts, offering perks like monthly discounts or statement credits.

“What’s great about open banking payments is we can provide consumers with value in other forms,” so that “we can extend optionality when the ACH transaction actually processes,” McFerrin told PYMNTS.