BNY Mellon launches a new aggregated payment platform named Vaia

BNY Mellon has launched the Vaia aggregated payment platform to give US-based institutions access to faster digital disbursement payment options. By leveraging a single integration with BNY Mellon, institutions can now provide their payees with access to Vaia's payment choices such as real-time payments via RTP, Same-Day ACH, Tokenized Payments with Zelle, and debit cards. 

The solution aims to minimise the time and resources needed for businesses to connect with all available payment rails. From a security standpoint, Vaia uses BNY Mellon's Account Validation Services in order to verify payee identities and validate accounts end-to-end. This helps reduce payment fraud and supports a safer and more efficient payment process. 

According to the official press release, Vaia aims to continually update its solutions portfolio with the latest payment innovations. This way clients and their payees will have access up-to-date digital payment options. Vaia is only available to BNY Mellon clients in the US at the time of writing, but there are plans to implement cross-border payments in future roll-out phases.

BNY Mellon partnered Verituity 

The Vaia platform was created in collaboration with Verituity, which is a cloud-based solution that connects banks, payers, and payees to first-time and on-time digital payouts. In February 2022, Verituity joined BNY Mellon’s Accelerator Programme to develop augmented payouts for corporate consumers. The Programme focuses on emerging technology companies around the globe and works with them on next-generation solutions that will address business challenges. 

Regarding this partnership, BNY Mellon company officials stated that given the advancements in the digital payments space, consumers and businesses increasingly expect payors to meet them on their preferred payment platforms. Therefore, the company has worked with Verituity to find new solutions that will help its clients harness the latest payment capabilities such as RTP, account validation, and other payments services via a single integration.

BNY Mellon launched Digital Asset Custody in the US 

In October 2022, BNY Mellon has launched its Digital Asset Custody platform in the US. In 2021, the bank formed an enterprise Digital Assets Unit that worked on solutions for digital asset technology, with plans to launch the industry's first multi-asset platform that links digital and traditional asset custody. 

According to a BNY Mellon survey, almost all institutional investors (91%) are in favour of investing in tokenized products. Additionally, 41% of institutional investors hold cryptocurrency in their portfolios, with an additional 15% planning to hold digital assets in their portfolios within the next two to five years.