NatWest launches SME Open Banking payments refunds

The service is made through NatWest’s Payit brand, which launched Open Banking payments in 2020. Payit now allows businesses to send money to customers using the service for refunds and compensation instead of using cheques or BACS, allowing payments in both directions, via Open Banking. NatWest says the need for businesses to send their customers money often occurs at crucial moments but existing methods can be slow, inefficient, and expensive.

Payit has now having processed over 200,000 transactions for existing business customers, since launching in 2020. The enhancement to Payit uses the Faster Payments framework, which allows payments of up to GBP 250,000 to be made, typically within a matter of seconds. The cheque cashing process means consumers often have to visit a branch to access the funds. 

The bank has also announced that transport provider Northern Rail has signed up for the service. NatWest is also planning to launch an API proposition, allowing merchants to integrate Payit directly with their own technology infrastructure.