Tyro, an Australia-based challenger bank, announced last week the launch of its new feature, “Tap & Save.” According to the fintech startup, Tap & Save allows merchants to save money by processing debit tap-and-go payments through the more economical eftpos network. Tyro reported that Tap & Save is a first-to-market initiative from the bank and is offering least-cost routing to merchants that have launched well ahead of the April 1st deadline recommended by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics. Tyro revealed:
“Least-cost routing will afford Australian businesses the choice to automatically process multi-network debit (MND) contactless transactions to the least-cost payment network. Tyro’s Tap & Save offering has the potential to generate substantial savings on acceptance costs for eligible scheme debit tap-and-go payments for businesses using Tyro terminals – cutting costs for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Tyro merchants will save on average six per cent on their Merchant Services Fees (MSF) and the majority of Tyro merchants will save between 20-30 per cent on re-routed transactions. Savings will vary between merchants depending on a business’ card mix, transaction volume and amount, industry and pricing plan.”
Tyro noted it will price Tap & Save transactions the same as eftpos transactions to bring the best value to Australian businesses. The company will also surrender some of its revenue to bring Tap & Save to its merchants. With the interests of SMEs at its core, Tyro has deep, strategic relationships with its merchants and a heavy focus on designing innovative products and a better payments and banking experience for its customers so they can prosper. Bronwyn Yam, Director of Product at Tyro, stated:
“Our aim is to remove the barriers from business success and we are thrilled to give our customers the opportunity to be the first businesses in Australia to benefit from Tap & Save. As the first-mover in offering least-cost routing to merchants, it certainly gives our customers an advantage. Tap & Save has the potential to provide Tyro merchants with some relief from the expense of doing business. We constantly look at how we can make banking and payments easier and more cost effective for merchants. Tyro’s commitment to delivering value to customers with Tap & Save even comes at the expense of our own bottom line.”
Tyro’s recently appointed CEO, Robbie Cooke, also commented:
“I am excited to see Tyro take the lead once again by bringing least-cost routing to the Australian market before all the other banks. Tap & Save is the perfect example of how Tyro is responding to the banking needs of SMEs.”
Tyro added the launch of Tap & Save represents the challenger bank’s first iteration of least-cost routing, with further enhancements to come in future months which are expected to deliver even more savings to a larger proportion of its customer base.