FIS (NYSE:FIS) has announced a partnership with Banked to offer a new “pay by bank” solution for both consumers and businesses. Banked, enables consumers to pay directly using their bank without entering any financial data.
Last year, FIS became one of the first Fintechs to be approved for the FedNow Service, a real-time platform for transfers and payments created by the US Federal Reserve. FIS says the Banked partnership will “capitalize on that momentum” as real-time payments become a reality for all.
Seamus Smith, Group President of Global Business to Business Payments at FIS, said there is significant demand for improved payments and transfers as well as fraud prevention features. The partnership was described as proof of the company’s commitment to “frictionless” payments.
While near-instant payments and transfers have been widely available in the Fintech and digital asset landscape, more traditional financial services have been slow to adopt these services. The best example is Zelle, a payments product introduced by a consortium of established banks.
The FedNow Service went live in July of 2023 and is available to depository institutions in the United States. The service provides interbank clearing and settlement that enables funds to be transferred from the account of a sender to the account of a receiver in near real-time and at any time, any day of the year. Service providers can offer value-added services.
FIS notes that digital payments are growing rapidly due to the adoption of digital wallets and mobile payments apps. According to the 2023 FIS Global Payments report, Account to Account (A2A) payments are projected to grow at a 13 percent compound annual growth rate.
Brad Goodall, co-founder and CEO of Banked, said the two firms are enabling businesses to take advantage of open banking and real-time payments to offer a superior service.