Optal signs deal with Allianz

The deal means Allianz will pilot and use Optal to pay suppliers in vehicle breakdown.

According to the company, Optal payment is different to traditional payments methods such as BACS, which can take days to complete the payment.

With Optal, the supplier such as a garage that has managed an Allianz partners customer’s vehicle, gets a virtual account number - a unique code - which they then use to receive payment over the Mastercard network. Using the code means payment can be made very quickly; insurers don’t have to store the supplier’s sort codes and other information that could be hacked thereby reducing the risk of fraud or data theft; and finally, there is a charge back mechanism.

The charge back mechanism means if the supplier provides faulty good or services, then the insurer is able to charge back all or part of the money paid.