Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking will be utilizing Mastercard’s Open Banking merchant payment solution to launch PayFrom Bank.
The solution allows people to carry out online payments directly from their bank accounts, giving customers more choice over “how they pay” while providing merchants with “instant settlement of funds,” according to the announcement.
United Response, a charity supporting vulnerable individuals, is reportedly the first merchant to sign up.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking said that they will offer the Open Banking payment solution to Lloyds Bank’s business clients.
Lloyds Bank’s PayFrom Bank, enabled by Mastercard’s Open Banking Merchant Payment Solution, lets consumers “make payments on an organization’s website directly from their bank account, without having to enter any payment details,” the release noted.
The solution, which is “compatible with most retail bank accounts,” gives consumers “greater choice over how they pay and enhances their user experience by providing a quick, secure and seamless payment option without the need to remember passwords or input data.”
Meanwhile, merchants are able to benefit from a cost-effective payment method that “supports their working capital by settling funds immediately.”
Mastercard and Lloyds Bank’s partnership should help with moving Open Banking account-to-account (A2A) payments “into the mainstream.”
As explained in the release:
“PayFrom Bank combines Mastercard’s Payment Gateway capabilities and its Open Banking Connect platform – a universal connection to financial institutions’ Open Banking functionality – to deliver a merchant A2A payment solution that covers around 95% of UK bank accounts leveraging Open Banking APIs.”
The announcement also mentioned:
“Initial interest in PayFrom Bank is coming from charities for online donations and wallet funding use cases such as investment accounts, although it can be used for any payment scenario. United Response, a charity that provides support to people with learning difficulties, autism, and mental health needs, is the first merchant to go live with the proposition.”
Kelly Devine, Divisional President of Mastercard UK and Ireland, noted that their Open Banking Merchant Payment Solution provides merchants and consumers an alternative to card based payments and “even greater choice over how they checkout.”
Kelly added that merchants are now able to offer their clients with “a wider range of payment methods without needing to store payer account details.” It also “removes friction for consumers as all payer details are automatically populated, meaning there’s no risk of entering the wrong account details. We’re excited to be partnering with Lloyds who has a strong pipeline of merchants waiting to sign up to PayFrom Bank,” Kelly added.
Mastercard’s Open Banking Merchant Payment Solution iis currently available as a white-label solution. Financial institutions – including the Lloyds Banking Group – are able “to easily integrate with it and instantly access the majority of UK bank accounts through Open Banking Connect.”
