Real-time payments are at the epicentre of the global payments landscape. Real-time transactions have been on a continuous upward trajectory at 118.3 billion real-time transactions made globally in 2021. What’s also exciting to see is that emerging economies in Latin America and Asia are leading the way in adopting real-time payments and are outpacing some more developed countries.
Real-time payments offer businesses a faster and more efficient way to pay and get paid. For example, an instant money transfer to a customer's bank account when returning goods from an ecommerce website results in a better customer experience – eventually leading to repeat business. 92% of customers are more likely to come back if returns are made easy, according to numbers from Fuelmade – meaning any merchant can add significantly more value to their core product offering by building a frictionless payment and refund experience.
The retail and financial services sectors would benefit the most. Neobanks can partner with an Open Banking fintech company and offer their customers tailor-made products and experiences. When a customer is seeking a loan, for example, they can get an instant money transfer, eliminating the waiting time, and enabling real-time payments. Still, in many countries, you can’t send money in real-time. Even less so with international money transfers. Zimpler is working to solve domestic and international real-time account-to-account payments by providing customers with a wide network of local and international banks across Europe. That allows for strong and trustworthy relationships, enabling real-time payments for a wider range of merchants.
Merchants can integrate payment solutions within their existing ecosystem. Customers would not be redirected to a different landing page while making a payment but stay where they are, in a brand-customised transaction flow. That is something Zimpler offers all its customers. All the while supporting the latest bank verification processes.
With the right fintech partner, merchants don't need to worry about regulatory processes like KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering). The efforts of managing seamless payments will be taken care of, leaving merchants to handle the core business.
In addition, a capable fintech partner will stay up to date with and make any necessary adjustments to comply with regulatory requirements.
An A2A solution is a superior option, as there’s no need for merchants to open multiple bank accounts. Funds received in a business are taken care of by a fintech partner and held in an in-house bank network. Therefore, merchants will have instant access to funds in real-time and don’t need to worry about manual reconciliation of transaction data. In addition to that, Zimpler provides a back-office portal where merchants can keep track of all incoming and outgoing transactions and download reconciled transaction reports.
Opting for an A2A payment solution trumps card use by miles. The reason for that is two-fold, the first being its cost. Every card payment transaction goes through several intermediaries, such as card issuers, card networks, card acquirers, and fraud engines. At every step of the process, each intermediary takes its cut, which is why merchants are charged high fees. With A2A payments, the only intermediary is the fintech company, for example, Zimpler. That is why processing fees are significantly lower.
Zimpler exists for one sole purpose: to simplify payments. Our primary way to do that is by offering real-time account-to-account payments. Every day we push the limits of innovation, meeting the industry’s, and our merchant’s, ever-changing needs, demands and challenges. We know and understand payments, and the impact of providing a seamless flow is at the core of our offering – as that is what generates maximum value for our partners.
This interview has first been published in the Open Banking Report 2022. Click here to download the report.
With an MBA from the University of Gothenburg, Kristofer co-founded Zimpler with Johan Friis. Since its inception in 2012, he has been on a clear mission to propel Zimpler forward in the Open Banking landscape, specialising in secure account-to-account payments.
Zimpler is a Swedish next-generation fintech company offering more secure transactions. Specialists in account-to-account payments, we are trusted by consumers and merchants across Europe to pay and get paid. We are rapidly expanding in new key markets with a mission to zimplify payment transactions everywhere. Learn more at Zimpler.com.
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