SIX, BearingPoint Look to Roll Out Fully Digital Payments, Request-To-Pay Solution

Management and technology consulting company BearingPoint and Swiss financial market infrastructure operator SIX have joined forces to develop a fully integrated invoice-to-payment service that will be rolled out in Europe, potentially in 2023, the companies announced in a press release on Thursday (Dec. 16).

The companies are partnering to create a fully digital solution that major banks and invoice issuers in European markets would use for invoice issuing and payments processing. The platform would be based on the eBill processing infrastructure that SIX has in place in Switzerland, which is used by 100 financial institutions and more than half of Swiss households.

Once complete, the service will digitize the entire process, from invoice issuance to payment. Invoices will be sent directly and securely to customers’ online and mobile banking applications, with customers authorizing information online and approving invoice payment via the click of a button.

The intent is to provide European banks a system that enables the receipt of invoices and the release of payments directly through the banks’ electronic banking platforms, according to the announcement.

“The role of the bank account in payment processing is undergoing a fundamental change. Banks need to address how they will position accounts with their customers in the future,” said Thomas Steiner, BearingPoint’s global leader of banking and capital markets. “Our joint solution offers banks a way to link accounts with additional services that are related to invoice receipt and payment and creates an overall win-win-win situation for banks, consumers and businesses.”

Fully digital payments are certainly not a new initiative. As of late, companies in the financial services space are working to step up efforts to safeguard customers’ personal information.

Read more: Citi Updates eBill Payment Platform with Account Authentication, Instant Payments

Earlier this week, Citi enhanced its Citi Present and Pay eBill payment platform with real-time account verification, as well as digital billing capabilities through Request for Pay messaging, according to PYMNTS.