VibePay Being Tested With 1K Members In UK

The London-based social payment app VibePay is being trialed with 1,000 Vibe members, the company announced in a press release on Monday (Sept. 29).

VibePay is a payment initiation service (PIS) that uses open banking to facilitate payments. Members invited to test the system can download the free app and share a special payment link to quickly send money to people in the Vibe community. The app can also be used to plan activities with friends and initiate a group pay.

“The phenomenal support from the Vibe community shows that we’re onto something great with VibePay. Their input has shaped the product we’re releasing today, and we’re excited to work closely with our users to make VibePay the best payments app out there,” said Luke Massie, CEO and founder of VibePay.

The app was created with feedback from the Vibe community. Recent research indicates 25 percent of young people in the U.K. are owed money from their friends. Each individual transaction has to be authorized via a user’s online banking provider.

The VibePay platform was built as an aggregation layer over the open banking APIs. VibePay for Business is being planned for a trial run later this year. The B2B solution will enable consumers to pay for online purchases directly from their bank accounts.

“At Vibe, we understand young consumers and build products that add value to their everyday lives. We’re excited to bring merchants and marketplaces an engaged, transactional and highly targeted user base,” Massie said in July.

VibePay launched six years ago as a place for people to buy and sell tickets, the company said on its website. It won approval in July from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide direct-to-bank payments via open banking.