YowPay Launches Instant SEPA Credit Transfer Solution for European Merchants

YowPay has launched a Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) credit transfer solution for merchants across the eurozone.

The software provider’s solution streamlines the payments process for merchants by generating a unique QR code for each transaction, allowing customers to pay faster and more easily, Electronic Payments International reported Tuesday (July 4). This means merchants can easily scale their businesses with greater cash flow.

“YowPay is a complementary payment solution that enables all merchants, whether online or at the point of sale, to be paid immediately and completely securely,” YowPay CEO Christian Caumont said in the report. “Our partnerships enable us to be available throughout the Eurozone, and our application makes the transaction even faster and more secure.”

The SEPA Instant Credit Transfer plan has been in place for a while, but adoption rates have been low due to a lack of standardization and the cost to banks and payment service providers (PSPs) of updating their systems. Reports have even suggested that payments processors are using 140 different SEPA formats across the European Union (EU).

ACI Worldwide recently launched its own instant payment solution for merchants to accept instant online, mobile and in-store payments. Basant Singh, global head of ACI’s merchant business, said, “Payments need to keep pace with an increasingly digital society. In Europe, 90% of people aged 16 to 74 now use the internet, and 74% buy or order goods online.”

The launch of the solutions from YowPay and ACI Worldwide can enable improved cash flow and payments processing. However, the real-time payments in terms of SEPA Instant Credit Transfer have been slow, with only 14% of credit transfers being instantaneous. The European Commission’s new ruling, which forces banks and PSPs to provide 24/7 euro payment services at no extra charge, could potentially spur greater adoption.

PYMNTS has discussed the growth of digital payment innovations and the increasing use of contactless systems, such as digital wallets, for everyday spend decisions. Tom Donovan, head of principal solutions at ACI Worldwide, told PYMNTS in an interview posted Wednesday (July 5) that the pandemic taught consumers that there are more ways to pay than just using cash or debit cards.

Donovan said digital wallets, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, can help consumers navigate an uncertain and inflationary macro environment by allowing them to easily track their spending.